Acceptance
by uzumakisunspydr
Summary: What will it take for the villagers of Konoha to finally accept Naruto as a protector and possible future Hokage? The price may be more than anyone expected. Naru/Saku Some other light pairings
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Yay!! My first story! Please read, review, and enjoy.**

**Rated T for language and violence**

**Note: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, sigh :( I don't claim to have any idea where Kishimoto-sensei is going with the story, this is something I would just like to see happen. This story starts a few years after the (presumed) downfall of Akatski. That would make Naruto about eighteen or nineteen. I'm keeping this pretty straight and true with the story so far. Okay... with all that over with, lets get this show on the road!**

**Acceptance****-Chapter One**

There was an festival-like air about the village of Konoha that afternoon. The final rounds of the chunnin exam were in full swing, and even the people not attending could feel the excitement as distant roars could be heard from the arena. The exams always brought extra custom to the village in the way of travelers from all over the five countries. People who came to cheer on their countries' young shinobi usually left with at least one piece of Konohas' fine wood work. Most of the artisan's shops were located in the neighborhood closest to the main gates, and the sounds of good natured dickering filled the air. The banter was easily heard by the keen ears of the one person on that street that wasn't having a good time.

Warm blue eyes gazed down at the masses from a deep shadow where one ornate roof overlapped its neighbor. There were probably some people in that crowd that would not be very happy if they knew they were being watched, especially by that particular individual. Which was why Naruto Uzumaki was skulking on rooftops and not joining the happy throngs below. He was watching the gate, waiting for one of the mere handful of people in this overgrown village that actually liked him for who he was and didn't think that he was going to murder them in their beds, to return from her mission.

Sometimes, he thought to himself, it would be easier to just turn hermit and live in a cave in the woods. Only the fact that he had some good friends, who would either come and drag his ass back, or most likely stage a mass mutiny and come share his cave with him, kept him in the village at all between missions.

Also, he much preferred ramen to roots and twigs.

In the past couple years the villager's attitude towards him had taken a rather alarming turn. It hadn't taken him very long to reason out why this latest change had occurred. It had gotten worse the older he got. When younger, he had always thought that people hated him because his birthday corresponded with the anniversary of the Kyuubi's attack and the death of the very popular Yondaime Hokage. His young mind realized they needed someone to blame and had somewhat accepted the cold looks and beatings, even when said beatings got bad enough to leave him hospitalized. This had mostly stopped when he started trying to make himself appear less threatening. He started pulling ridiculous pranks and acting younger than he was. This gave him a way to release excess energy in a way that would make people look at him like he was an idiot, which, to him, was preferable to the cold, calculating looks he usually got. His lurid orange outfit had strengthened that image, while the long sleeves and high collar were good at hiding bruises. After he graduated from the Academy and joined team 7, he was gone so much that he rarely saw his apartment, much less the villagers. When he had returned from his long training trip with Jiraiya he looked like a gawky teenager that still had a touch of the fresh faced kid he had been.

When he had turned sixteen he had started sprouting like a weed, and had that gaunt, starving look of someone who had done a lot of growing in a very short amount of time. Now, at almost nineteen, he had matured into the powerful young man that he was. He had filled out since then and his height had settled somewhere around 6'1". He was lean, with a certain wirey toughness and a much more graceful form. His face had lost the babyish roundness and was now longer and more refined. He had let his hair grow to the point that his bangs flopped over his headband and framed his intense blue eyes. In honor of his father he had taken to wearing a black, sleeveless, haori with orange flames dancing around the bottom over his flak jacket and mesh shirt. After Jiraiya had died, Tsunade had asked Naruto if he had wanted anything from the small apartment he used on the few occasions he spent any time not traveling. To her surprise all he seemed to walk out with were some scrolls that had not already been bequeathed to him, like the toad contract, and a large orange silk wall hanging with black writing he had found in a closet. Tsunade understood the next day when Naruto had appeared with a new cloth for his hitai-ate. He no longer wore his "oh shoot me now" orange jumpsuit, but he still had a thing for the color.

The biggest change was his demeanor. Naruto no longer bounced around the village like a dervish, he moved with the unconscious grace of a big cat. His speed had developed almost to the point of his fathers, and he was very graceful. While still as laid back and friendly as ever, he now had a serious and more businesslike air to him, and he no longer hid his very real intelligence. Since he spent as little time in the village as he could lately, that meant he was on missions and was acquiring a name for himself in the neighboring countries. That reputation had made it back to the village, and that was where the root of his recent problems were coming from. Along with the hatred and mistrust, there was a new expression on the villagers faces when they looked at him now. Fear.

He had even been held back from the jonin selections the past couple of years, as if the council could pretend he wasn't as strong as he was if they held him back in rank. Tsunade had given him something of a battlefield promotion to chunin during the Akatsuki affair, and the thunderous look on her face had told him that the council had even tried to prevent that. The last time he had been denied the rank of jonin, Shikamaru had been with him. Naruto had been at the point of apoplexy after the council had finished with the current list of stupid reasons for passing him over. They had then turned to Shikamaru to congratulate him on his selection. Shikamaru looked at them, than glanced at the expression on Naruto's face. Without batting an eye he had told the entire council, including his father, just where they could put their offer. While the stunned elders were trying to compose themselves and Tsunade's face was turning red with suppressed laughter, Shikamaru had grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room. Once out of earshot the two of them had just sagged together and laughed until they wheezed.

Naruto growled under his breath as he watched the villagers on the street below. Look at them. They treated shinobi from villages who had once been mortal enemies with more trust than someone who had been protecting them since he had been twelve. He noticed that he was grinding his teeth and forced himself to calm down.

He wasn't surprised that he was dwelling on this so much. He always did when he didn't have his friends around to distract him. Unfortunately his team had all been assigned individual missions, and it had been just his bad luck to be the first one back. They were a team of individual specialists, unlike the others who usually specialized in something as a group, like team eight, made up of spies and scouts. Sakura was a med-nin, and usually acted in that capacity. He and Sasuke excelled at what they had always been good at, overall mayhem. With their speed they usually acted as scouts and information gatherers, when they weren't using their various talents for fighting.

They'd been working apart all too much lately.

To top it all off, with the chunnin exam going on, all the rest of his year mates were busy, either watching over the exam itself or picking up the slack for those who were. So all he found to do with himself was to hide up here and wait for Sakura to walk through that gate. She should be about an half hour away.

He smiled slightly. Sasuke was his brother, but they had been apart for so long that when he had returned, they had had to get to know each other all over again. But Sakura had been a constant in his life. She was his best friend, and he had noticed that relationship getting closer lately. They spent so much of their spare time together that it would be no great leap to make it official. She was someone he could talk to and count on. He told her things he was still uncomfortable discussing with Sasuke, his fears and uncertainties about his future in a village that hated him.

Though he had loosened up considerably since returning to the village, Sasuke still had about as much patience as ever with meaningful, heart to heart conversation.

Naruto looked down at a slight scar on his left palm and smiled again. He and Sasuke's relationship really was a brotherly bond now, with one watching the others back no matter what, even while getting on each others nerves.

Flashback- 2 1/2 years earlier

He hurt, which wasn't too uncommon, and when he opened his eyes it was to find himself in a hospital room, which was altogether _too _common. He felt cuts and abrasions all over his body, and his right side was numb where he had take a blow to the ribs from a club wielded by one of Pein's realms. Numb. Numb was a good thing considering he distinctly remembered feeling his ribs on that side shatter. He liked numb.

What had happened? How had he gotten hurt?

Oh yeah.

He had lured Pein to one of the training grounds, wanting to be able to go at full power without a chance of anyone caught in friendly fire. Also there was the always the danger of going Kyuubi. They had been going at it for what seemed ,to Naruto, forever. Neither was making very much progress and Naruto had been forced to use his still limited sage abilities. That had whittled his opponent down to three bodies, but had also left Naruto exhausted. He had too many sore spots to count and was using so much chakra for offense that he had almost none for healing. He had scrapped enough chakra together for one last try, and felt the fox doing the same. They both knew this was going to be the end, no matter which way the tide turned. He would never have gotten as far as he had without the fox's help. Luckily the Kyuubi had a well developed sense of self preservation, and hadn't liked the sound of what Akatski was doing to the other biju, and had decided that as long as Naruto kept things interesting, he would stick with him.

Naruto had called up a Great Sphere Rasengan, than injected it with wind chakra at a very rapid speed. He had hypothesized that doing this would make it unstable and cause it to break apart, and he had been right. He had two clones carry the swirling, shuddering mass of energy towards Pein, as fast as they could . Just as they neared, the massive RasenShuriken broke apart into hundreds of tiny ones. Naruto, crouching at a safe distance, came up with a name for this maneuver on the fly.

"Rasenhailstorm"!!

Then the edges of his vision had started to darken and he had to fight to stay conscious. He sagged to the ground, though he didn't know whether any piece of his enemy was mobile enough to continue attacking him. His clones had been destroyed as soon as the hail of compressed chakra had started to rain down. His cheek hit the cracked earth and his wounds all started screaming at him at once. Right before he lost conciseness, he felt a whisper of movement from in front of him and looked up to see someone standing protectively over him. Someone with black hair and a very familiar fan clan symbol on his back.

" That had to have been a hallucination", he mused, thinking over this strange memory as he lay in his hospital bed.

His train of thought was interrupted by the door to his room sliding open. A worried but strangely buoyant Sakura walked in. When she saw he was awake, the last traces of stress left her face. She ran across the room and for a moment Naruto was scared she was going to hug him. As much as he liked it when she hugged him, he didn't thing he was up to a Sakura hug right now. Luckily, she seemed to remember his injuries.

" Thank Kami", she said, sitting on the edge of his bed. "I didn't think you were going to come back from that one."

" To tell you the truth, neither did I ", he said, laughing as much as his ribs would allow. Than he sobered. " It was a close one, wasn't it?"

"To close". She picked up his hand and some of the anxiety came back to her face. "If you hadn't had help at the last minute, we would have lost you."

"Help? What help?" He was confused by her slightly amused look.

"You don't remember?"

"All I remember is having one hell of a hallucination as I blacked out."

"Naruto, it wasn't a hallucination." she smiled, a wide Cheshire cat grin that he hadn't seen on her face in awhile. " Are you up for a little walk? Someone wants to see you, and he's being confined to his room. We'll have to go to him."

" You're the medic, you tell me," he said cheekily " usually you're fighting to keep me _in_ bed."

" I think it's alright this time," She helped him sit up and laid his arm over her shoulder. He put more weight onto her than he wanted, but he was almost ridiculously weak and he knew she could take it. Hell, she could have picked him up and carried him to wherever they were going if she wanted. Luckily for his dignity, they just seemed to be going next door, because his legs were wobbly after only a few steps.

Sakura nodded to the two ANBU stationed in the hallway, knocked on the door and opened it. The occupant of the room was sitting on the edge of the bed, rather than laying in it, looking out the window. The man turned around at the sound of the door and obsidian eyes bore into sky blue ones. He was bandaged on his arms and chest, and his left arm was in a sling. Sasuke looked at him, and smiled slightly, the first genuine smile Naruto had seen on him in more than ten years.

"Fuck me!" was all Naruto could think to say. Actually he was lucky even that came out.

Sakura looked up at his face and stifled a laugh. He looked like he had been hit in the back of the head with a board.

"Well, we haven't see each other in a while, I think we should probably wait on that", Sasuke said. " Sakura, put him on the bed across from mine, we have a lot to talk about and he can barely stand up."

Sakura walked a still stunned Naruto over to the other bed in the room, facing Sasuke's. She helped him into it, tucking him in with an almost maternal air, than climbed up next to him and crossed her legs.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. " You two sure have gotten comfortable with each other."

"That's what comes from being a team," Sakura replied, a hint of coldness creeping into her voice.

Sasuke rubbed the back of his head absently. " I know I deserved that, and a lot more, but I want to make it up to you two, now."

" What do you mean "make it up" to us? How could you possibly make things just go back to the way they were, just like that?" Naruto looked over at Sakura, surprised by the vehemence in her voice.

"I've already had a bit of a talk with Lady Tsunade about returning to the village, permanently." He looked almost sheepish. " She yelled at me, made me feel like I was some sort of bug, and said that if I passed my interrogation and personality exam, I would be on probation for the rest of my life, or something like that. She really is the queen of the guilt trip, isn't she?"

Sakura's eyes widened. " I cant believe she would let you come back with that little consequence. She wasn't here for very long before you left, but she took it a little personally. And she holds a grudge for, like, ever." Sakura then proceeded to prove that she was like her teacher in that regard as she continued to rail Sasuke. " You become a nuke nin, almost kill Naruto, willingly go traipsing to Orochimaru, even though you knew full well that he wanted to take over your body, than proceed to attack us the next time we see you. "

Sasuke sat looking down at his hands, and let her go on like this for a while, until Naruto raised a hand and gently placed it on her shoulder. She stopped in mid harangue and realized Sasuke was looking at them with a haunted expression in his dark eyes.

" You two have no idea what it is like to have a curse mark." he began quietly. "It's like having a little voice in your head 24/7, sort of like a conscience, but instead of giving you good advice, it tells you that you are invincible and above everyone around you. It took my already angsty little mind and forced me to think that no ones feelings were as important as my own. Naruto, when we fought on the roof, and later at the river, it was almost like the seal had taken over a bit, and wanted to test itself against the one person that my mind was saying it didn't want to fight. I only got control back after I had exhausted myself and you were unconscious. At that point I knew I was a danger to you and everyone else, so I left." Sasuke sighed. " After that I began to learn more about the Akatsuki from the Snake and I knew Itachi was a part of it and looking for you. I knew they were collecting the tailed demons, and that the fate of the vessel containing the demon wasn't a pleasant one. I knew I still had to confront Itachi sooner or later, so I resolved to keep you as far away from myself as possible. What I failed to take into account is that damn stubbornness of yours." Sasuke gave a snort at that.

" I had heard rumors that you were traveling with the other sannin, Jiraiya ( Sasuke noticed Narutos' wince at the name, and decided to leave that subject for later). I figured you would be too busy to look for me, or had given up. When you showed up at the underground complex a couple of years later, I didn't know what to do. I was completely caught off guard, and decided to mess with you a bit, see if I could finally discourage you. I thought I had until I ran into one of your clones on my way to fight Itachi." Sasuke smiled. "Humph, should have known better."

Naruto and Sakura were quiet on their side of the room for a while, digesting the information they had heard in the past few minutes. Finally he looked up at Sasuke. " That really was you I saw as I passed out? You came to help me?"

" I had sent my group to help in the fights against the other members of Akatski, then followed your chakra to where you were fighting. I made it just in time to see that crazy last jutsu of yours. Pein was still moving, or at least one of him was, and you were out for the count. I finished what you started, but not before he managed to get a few licks of his own in." Sasuke held up his arm ruefully.

All through this, Sakura was watching Sasuke. There was something so different about him. The last few minutes he had strung more words together than she had ever heard him speak. He had facial expressions, and fidgeted. She wasn't used to this new chatty , animated, Sasuke yet. She suddenly realized that this was probably what he would have been like if the massacre of his family had never happened. They were seeing the real Sasuke now, and not the moody, tortured child he had been. Though she had lost her fan girl obsession of him long ago, she wondered if she would have been attracted to this Sasuke in the first place. She was pondering this when there was a knock on the door. Shizune stuck her head in.

"Sakura, I hate to interrupt, but we need your help. Some more wounded have come in and its "all hands on deck" again."

"Coming!" Sakura slid off the bed and started for the door at a run. "I'll be back when I can. Naruto! Stay put!"

" Yes mother!" That earned him a half hearted glare, then she was gone, leaving the two young men in a slightly uncomfortable silence. It was Naruto who finally broke it.

"What happened?" he asked quietly. "What happened to change your mind about all of this?"

Sasuke knew that question would come sooner or later.

"I had a bit of an epiphany not too long ago. Actually all that happened is that I got my head out of my ass and finally realized just what a good thing I had had here. I learned that my brother was not the monster I had thought he was. He had been forced into killing our family by the village council, then went into exile. He did it because he loved this village, and everything it stood for, and leaving broke his heart. He knew some of what was coming and decided that the best way to make sure I became strong enough was to piss me off." Sasuke smiled a sad little smile. " He made me hate him because he loved me and wanted to protect me. I began to get a better idea of what brotherhood could mean. It was a good feeling. Itachi went through hell for this village, and protecting the village he loved just seems like the right thing to do." Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes then. There was a sudden fierce determination in them. "When we were fighting on the river, you said that you saw me as a brother. Do you still feel that way after all this time?"

A thoughtful look appeared on Naruto's face. Sasuke let him mull the question over for a while. His face was tense and his eyes would darken or lighten, depending on the train of his thoughts. Sasuke suddenly had the same thought that Sakura had earlier about him. This was a Naruto that had been hidden underneath the flamboyant personality he showed to the rest of the world. It was something he would have to get used to.

" I never really stopped thinking of you as a brother." Naruto wouldn't look at him. "A part of me always thought that you were doing those things for reasons of your own that made sense to you. All I wanted was to be there in case you needed my help, even if you were to proud to ask." He looked across the room and the hurt in those blue eyes made Sasuke feel even lower than when Tsunade had been chewing him out.

"What about your group, the scary people you were traveling with?"

"We parted on good terms. They each said that they were going to return to their respective villages and shake things up there. I said I didn't care where they went as long as they never shook things up here." Sasuke shook his head. " I also completely agree with you. They were scary. In many ways."

Sasuke slid from his bed and rummaged around in a pack against the wall, coming up with a kunai. " I've been thinking like I'm on my own for so long that its going to hard for me to change right away, but I promise to let you watch my back from now on, if I can watch yours. I want to be teammates again, and brothers, if you'll have me. He took the knife and cut a small nick into the palm of his right hand and walked over to Naruto's bed. Naruto looked up at him, conflicting emotions still causing his eyes to change like clouds across a clear sky. Their eyes met, and Naruto saw the sincerity in Sasuke's face. He reached up and took the kunai and made a cut in the palm of his left hand, and clasped Sasuke's outstretched right hand.

"Brothers."

They stayed like that for a minute, not hearing someone else enter the room until Sakura's hand came down on both of theirs.

"Team Seven." was all she said.

"Team Seven!"

-present

Sasuke had been true to his word that day. He was there for them. They were a team like they had been before that chunnin exam, long ago. Oh, they had had some rocky moments when they were getting used to working together again. Sasuke didn't have that obsessive superiority complex anymore, but he also didn't have anything in the way of social skills, either. He had been out of practice dealing with people that weren't crazy or homicidal and it still got him into trouble sometimes. Naruto and Sakura were more forgiving of his slip ups than any one else. After all, they had gotten used to Sai.

Naruto laughed silently. Compared to Sai, Sasuke was practically cosmopolitan.

Naruto continued his watch on the gate, oblivious to the chatter from the street below. It was definitely his team and his friends that kept him sane. As his mind wandered back down this well worn trail, something tweaked his senses. Over the past year he had gained a reputation for knowing when something bad was going to happen before it did. Any of his peers with him on a mission knew to trust these hunches of his. The council and some of the other shinobi took it to mean that the Kyuubi fed him information, proof that the demon was taking over. Actually, all it happened to be was that his naturally keen senses of hearing and smell combined with his good observation skills. He was always looking around him, a habit he had picked up while dodging irate villagers. As a result, he didn't miss much. He called it good instincts. Sasuke called it being paranoid.

The wind was blowing towards him from the land outside the gate, and he began to be aware of a strange scent that he couldn't immediately identify. The only reason he picked it up at all was that it was like nothing that belonged in this particular neighborhood. All he should be smelling here is different woods and varnish. This was a sour, almost putrid smell that was vaguely familiar. He scanned the woods outside the gate, looking for anything else out of the ordinary.

There. A small flash of light reflecting off of metal. Another one.

Soon he was seeing movement in the forest on both sides of the road. Not the road, but rather the brush on either side of it. That was a bad sign. Whoever they were , they weren't regular travelers. And because of the impromptu festival going on below him, he was the only one seeing this. Naruto's bad feeling was getting worse. Most of his year mates were out of the village. The rest of the jonin and elite chunin were either observing the exams or proctoring them. There were still guards on the wall and strategic spots in the village, but today of all days, they were of low power, little experience, and spread pretty thin.

Naruto stood and disappeared in a poof of smoke, materializing in front of the guard stand. The two young kunoichi stationed there couldn't of had their rank very long. One actually yelped when he appeared. Naruto sighed. They probably made chunin in the exam earlier in the year. They couldn't have been more than fourteen.

"Get this gate closed," he snapped. "Something's coming."

The two just stood there looking at him. "What?"

Naruto had gotten good at unnerving people with certain facial expressions, and put this into good effect now. Blue eyes flashing, teeth bared, he rounded on the two young ninja.

"I said, somethingbadisabouttocomethroughthisgategetitclosed! Now!"

That got a response alright. "Yessir!" One leapt over to the controls that opened and closed the massive gates. The other went for the phone, to alert whoever she could. After a minute they both turned to look at him, wide eyed.

"Sir, nothing in this booth is working. The controls aren't responding and the phone is dead."

Naruto swore. For the power to have been cut, it could only mean two things. Someone on the inside was helping whoever was on the outside, and this had been in the works for a while. They were about to be invaded.

Naruto looked over at the two scared gate guards, trying to come up will some semblance of a plan. He tried to smile encouragingly. "Ok, we'll deal with this together. I have very important jobs for both of you."

To the first young kunoichi, "I want you to head for the arena, as fast as you can, and alert the Hokage and Kazekage. I'm going to need backup here as soon as possible. Go!"

"Hai!" She leapt to the roof of the guard shack, than to the nearest building, and was gone.

Now the next one.

"You need to clear this street and start moving people away from this gate. I know its going to be a big job. Grab anyone you think you can trust to help you." He thought about making some clones to help her, but thought better of it. The people wouldn't trust him and he had the feeling he was going to need all his chakra for whatever was coming. Gods only knew when his backup would arrive.

The kunoichi looked at him for a panicked second more, than seemed to gather some resolve.

"Yes sir, Uzumaki-san, I'll do my best."

"I know" was all he said, laying a hand on her shoulder briefly. He was gratified to see she didn't wince away from him. Than she was gone, tearing up the street. He watched her for a minute to see if the crowd was going to listen to her, and was relieved to see most of the people gather their things and begin to move further into the village. The kunoichi chivied and harried the stragglers, like a sheep dog with very stupid sheep.

That left Naruto very much on his own, the lone defender of a very large gate through which Kami knows what was about to come, most likely to do its best to pound him.

Sounded like fun.

He took a stance in the middle of the road, just inside the gates, and waited, sences alert for anything that might come his way. His weight was balanced on the balls of his feet, ready to fling himself in any direction. He cursed himself that he wasn't wearing his flak jacket. Or his hitai-ate. A haori and a mesh shirt wasn't going to be much help against sharp pointy things. He took a mental inventory of the weapons he had on him. He had been training with Tenten earlier, so he had his shuriken and kunai holsters, and he had his wrist holster on. He also had an ace up his sleeve. Or on his back rather.

When Naruto had been picking through Jiraiya's apartment, he had come across a wrapped package in a closet. When Naruto had picked it up, he had found, to his surprise, it had his name written on it. He hadn't unwrapped it then, but had bundled it up in a wall hanging and spirited it back to his apartment. It proved to be a finely made tanto (short sword) with a tsuba ( guard) bearing a design of toads. He didn't know when the old man had been planning on giving it to him, but he had obviously thought he would be around to do it. Naruto had sat looking at it for a while, not noticing when tears started running down his face.

Only a few people knew he had it, much less knew how to use it. He rarely used other blades beside a kunai, and still was fairly uncomfortable with something as long as a katana. The tanto suited him though, as its blade wasn't all that much longer than a knife. He had gotten Kakashi to train him in the use of it, because Naruto saw the potential with some of his jutsus. That and he was determined to use this last gift from his godfather.

Now, two years later, the weapon was like a part of him. He rarely went anywhere without it, it fit nicely under his haori in the hollow between his shoulders. He could infuse it with wind chakra, much like Asuma's blades. It could, and had, cut cleanly through any blade it met with. Many a surprised samurai had been left holding a stump after Naruto had flashed by.

Naruto looked up as movement on the road caught his attention. They were here.

--

Sorry about the long chapter, I'm still getting the hang of this. Slowly. Next chapter will be up soon. I know. I hate "to be continued-s" too.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here we go, chapter two. What you've been waiting for. At least I hope some were waiting for it……**

**Once again, I don't own Naruto or anything else from that world.**

**Chapter 2**

Naruto had been on a few joint missions with some of Suna's teams within the past several months, usually working with his friend, Kankuro. They had been tracking a group of slavers who had been preying on caravans and small villages in the borderland between Wind and Fire. They spent three weeks trying to pin them down, with no luck. They always seemed to be one step behind them, finding only deserted camps. The band would make a few captures, than disappear, most likely traveling to another country where the Daimyo looked the other way, to sell their wares. Naruto and Kankuro had agreed the slavers were either very well organized, or else annoyingly lucky. There was even the possibility that they were lead by a missing nin. Their leader seemed to be quite intelligent at the very least. The shinobi had taken some of the pressure off recently, hoping the slavers would get overconfident and make a mistake.

Unfortunately that particular plan seemed to have worked a little _too _good.

" This isn't overconfidence, this is nuts!" Naruto exclaimed to himself, as he watched the very group he had been trying to capture walk out into the open ground one either side of the road. He couldn't believe the balls theses guys had, raiding a hidden village. True, they seemed to have planned this well. With the chunin exam going on, defense at the gates would be minimum. With strangers coming to watch the exam, it would have been no trouble to sneak someone in to cut the wires to the guard shack. They could rush in with very little opposition, grab as many villagers as they could in the immediate vicinity of the gate, and run . Buyers would pay a lot for slaves from a hidden village. They tended to be strong and healthy, and there was always the chance to get a potential shinobi, a child to mold into a personal bodyguard or a blood sport fighter.

Over his dead body.

Naruto glanced over the group. They definitely matched up with the eyewitness reports of the slavers. They were a mismatched bunch of about twenty men. Looking at their facial structures and clothing, there were representatives from all the surrounding countries. Most of them carried swords of varying length and all had pouches of smaller weapons. They had evidently tried to beef up their defenses before this venture, as they all wore rather ugly looking leather armor. That was the smell that had alerted him. Green, poorly tanned leather. With his sense of smell, Naruto never went anywhere near a leather tanners shop if he could help it. Making leather armor was a disgusting process even when it was done right. The raiders were either no experts, or didn't expect to need their armor for very long. Overconfident bastards.

They began to move towards the gate, keeping to the edge of the road, out of sight from the window of the guard post. The ones in the lead froze as they spotted Naruto. A slight, whispered discussion took place between the leaders. They hadn't been expecting anyone to even be aware of their approach, much less standing in the middle of the road waiting for them. They should have been able to surprise the inexperienced guards and commence with their raid.

What they had failed to take into account was one bored ninja, with a good sense of smell, who had nothing better to do with himself than watch people going in and out of a gate. Naruto made a big show of pulling his tanto out and holding it outstretched in his right hand, hopping to keep them talking for a bit longer.

Unfortunately the slavers seemed to come to a decision kind of quickly and started towards Naruto in a purposeful manner. They had evidently decided that twenty to one odds was fine with them.

Well that was fine with Naruto. He was never outnumbered for very long.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Twenty clones poofed into existence.

And were immediately cut down.

Naruto looked around him, stunned. Where every clone had been, an arrow quivered in the ground. He swore, long and creatively. These guys had done their homework. They had either heard of him, or just knew that shadow clones were a popular jutsu here. It was a classic and simple counter to shadow clones. Station snipers around to destroy the clones as soon as they were created.

"Crap"

Naruto scanned the trees around the gate. They were probably up there. He had no idea how many, but obviously there were more than twenty in this group. Damn. He was in trouble.

Oh sure, he had more impressive jutsu to use, and they worked good against large groups, but they were also good at demolishing everything in the vicinity. He only used them in uninhabited areas, where no one could be caught in the backlash. He refused to use that much power while in the village. He knew the street behind him was mostly clear, but he no idea about the buildings. The other problem was that most of his more impressive jutsu required shadow clones to deliver, or he did just as much damage to himself as his opponents, and he couldn't afford to be slowed down now.

They had done a damn good job at handicapping him.

Naruto was just getting over his shock at this turn of events when the first katana came at him. With lightning speed, Naruto brought his sword around to counter, impailing the man in the chest. Using his enemies momentum to swing them both around so that the body was between himself and the rest gave him a split second of breathing room in which to infuse the tanto with chakra. The blade sliced the body nearly in two. The next blade that met his was severed near the guard. An elbow and uppercut to the chin and the feeling of bone crunching meant that one more was out of the fight.

Well, one good thing about close quarters fighting was that he was now hard to hit with arrows. The snipers couldn't fire at him and risk hitting their own people. One less thing he had to worry about. Naruto let his mind sink into almost a trance and let his reflexes do most of the work. All that existed in his world now was the fight. Attack and defend. He could feel it when one of his opponents managed to get a blow in, but ignored the pain. There was plenty of time to take inventory later.

Naruto dropped one more raider, and, looking around, found that the rest of them had pulled back a short ways. There were several bodies littering the ground around him, and most of the raiders still standing were sporting wounds of varying severity. There were still about twelve left, with an unknown number still in the trees. They weren't bothering to shoot him, though he was sure they would if he tried to summon clones. They were either saving their arrows for an emergency, or were confident that their comrades on the ground would pull him down soon. He wondered where his backup was, it felt like he had been fighting for hours, though he knew it had really only been a few minutes. Help was still far away. He took a moment to take stock of his own injuries, and found that he was in trouble again.

After Naruto's fight with Pein, the nine tailed fox had not taken kindly to returning to back seat status, and had taken to testing him now and again, mostly when he was tired and his guard was down. The fox would try to take control in various ways or else make him miserable. Naruto would wake in the middle of the night from horrible nightmares to find himself surrounded by the orange glow of the fox's chakra. He would start to transform at random times. It had happened on a couple missions, with disastrous results. Luckily no one had been hurt and both times Sasuke had been with him, and had suppressed the fox. After the last incident, Naruto had not dared to let his guard down for an instant. Finally, after a week of no sleep, he had hunted down Yamato and had gotten him to make a seal that Naruto could carry with him everywhere. It was a small wooden disk with the character Yamato had used to contain the Kyuubi while Naruto had been element training. He wore it on a thong around his neck with his crystal necklace. Infused with the chakra of the first Hokage, the seal kept Naruto's link with the fox down to a thread. He could access small amounts of the fox's chakra, but the fox could not use their link to gain control. He had had to listen to the fox bitch for a month about it until he seemed to get tired of complaining. In retaliation, the fox sent him bad dreams every night, which had turned Naruto into a very restless sleeper, but at least he could sleep knowing he wouldn't wake up in a pile of rubble that had been his apartment building.

The main problem with the seal was that Naruto's usually fast healing time had also been affected. He still healed faster than most people, but it was pretty slow compared to what he had been used to. During the fight, he had picked up several cuts and bruises, which were all making their presence felt now that he was paying attention to them. The worst one was a long slash across his chest, running from his collarbone to his ribs on the opposite side, that he didn't even remember getting. It was shallow and messy, more annoying than anything else. It was bleeding sluggishly, not enough to be a problem on its own, but combined with the half dozen other nicks he had, blood loss was going to become an issue before long.

Taking the seal off wasn't an option. He did occasionally, but only when he was alert or had Sasuke around to keep the fox in line. Here, inside the village, he just couldn't take the risk. He was tired, hurt, and pissed, and going Kyuubi in front of the whole village was the last thing his popularity needed.

He was going to have to end this some other way, soon.

--

Hey, it's a short chapter to counter the previous super long one...next chapter coming a soon as possible


	3. Chapter 3

_**Next chapter! Please enjoy and review! I love reviews!!**_

_**Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sensei**_

He had to end this fast.

Naruto tended to work well under pressure. Sakura said it was because when he fought, his brain could finally catch up with the rest of his body. He wasn't really sure that had been a compliment, but it had made sense at the time.

Now, he hoped she was right.

"One amazing jutsu on the fly, coming up." What he had in mind wasn't all _that_ spur of the moment, though. He had been thinking about trying it out for awhile now. It was something like his Rasenhailstorm, he thought that it probably would work, but didn't know exactly what would happen, to himself or the immediate vicinity. He hadn't tried it because he had been trying to stay on Sakura's good side lately, and seeing as how she usually had to patch him up after one of his experiments, he had put the idea on hold. He had been trying to come up with a technique to take out a large group at one time, in the case he was ever heavily outnumbered. This was defiantly one of those times, as he had to get rid of the snipers in the trees as well as the men on the ground. The only problem was, he was going to have to aim and deliver this thing himself, since his clones were still pretty much useless. Handling even an ordinary Rasenshuriken caused damage to his hands, arms, and cellular structure.

Naruto thought about his sage power. It had relied on the fox chakra a lot too. That, and he still had a tendency to turn toad like when he tried to use it. Nope, no help there. It was this or nothing.

"Sakura's going to kill me." Well, if this worked, at least he would be around for her to bitch at him. At that point, he would just be so glad to see her that she could yell at him all she wanted.

Naruto sheathed his sword to free up both hands. Arms outstretched, he started to call chakra to both palms. He sweated a bit at the strain, and thought longingly at how much easier it would be without the seal cutting him off from most of the Kyuubi's power.

No, don't think about it, just concentrate. Some more power here, now some wind chakra. Finally, he had what he wanted, two perfect Rasenshuriken, one in each hand.

The raiders were now muttering to each other uncertainly, wondering what he was up to. All at once they gathered their courage and rushed him. Naruto snorted to himself. These guys were either oblivious to the danger they were in, or overly brave. Possibly both.

"Wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for…..Now!"

Naruto brought his hands together with a violent clapping motion, then shoved his palms outward, as if he were pushing something away. The two whirling balls of power seemed to fuse into one great blast that shot outward from the palms of his hands. The leading rank of attackers, who couldn't of been more ten feet away from him were virtually obliterated as needles of chakra blasted them apart. The twelve men had no time to react and probably still didn't know what had hit them.

The wave of destruction spread outward, getting wider and wider. It passed through the gate, leaving splintered wood in its wake. Naruto kept the pressure focused away from the village, even as he felt the small bones in his hands start to break and the tendons rip. He could feel the wound on his chest tearing slightly under the great pressure, but he could not let up. He could not let any of power backlash into the people he was protecting.

Naruto watched as the wave of chakra swept through the trees. This was actually working better than he had hoped. It dispersed as it traveled, leaving the trunks of the trees intact but stripping the leaves off the branches. He began to hear the sickening thuds of bodies falling from their perches. He didn't know if the concentration of chakra was still lethal at that distance, but it didn't really matter. Dead or alive, the snipers wouldn't be going anywhere soon. At least he hoped not. He didn't have much fight left in him. The spirit was willing, but the body? His chest was bleeding worse than it had been and his hands were pretty much numb chunks of meat at the ends of his very sore arms. He could barely move, much less draw his sword. He was tired beyond belief and it was all he could do to just stand here and look tough. At least it seemed like the excitement was mostly over. He was congratulating himself a little on being alive when the kunai thudded into his back.

"The hell?!"

Naruto lurched forward, unbalanced by the impact. Where the hell had that come from? Behind him? Who? All these confused thoughts were going through his mind when he suddenly remembered the cut lines to the gate. Damn. He had forgotten all about the fact that there may be a saboteur with the slavers. He staggered to the side, into the doorway to the guard shack, trying to avoid anymore missiles, while at the same time trying to spot his attacker.

His vision was starting to get blurry. "The blood loss", he thought. "Shit. This guy is going to just be able to pick me off whenever he wants." The kunai was lodged just below his left shoulder blade. Without thinking, he reached back to try to pull it out. Searing pain from his chest made Naruto gasp. He took a few more steps inside the shack, trying to find some cover before he completely lost it. He had one conscious thought before the floor came rushing up to meet him.

"Sakura's going to kill me."

--

Sakura Haruno was not having the best week. She and a medic team had been dispatched to a small village about a days journey away. After a week of heavy rains, the hillside above the town had given way, burying nearly half of it beneath several feet of mud and earth. Digging a town out from under a massive landslide was hard, dirty, heartbreaking work. The soil had been nearly liquid when it reached the first buildings, meaning few survivors.

The children had been the worst.

As a medic, Sakura saw all to much death. A shinobi's life was often a brutally short one. It was something you accepted. To find the lifeless body of a child was unacceptable.

Sakura sighed. She had to get her mind off of that. It was over. She was on her way home, to friends who would help her to forget the past week. She ran her hands through her short cropped pink hair. First, she wanted a bath. She was sure she would never get all the mud out of her pores. A bath, then burn the clothes she was wearing. After a week of mud, death, and no laundry, she never wanted to see them again.

She wished she wasn't traveling alone, but she had sent her team home two days ago. She had wanted to make sure that a few of her patients were on the mend before leaving herself. The families had been so worried, especially those who had lost other members. They had been profuse in their thanks, but needed to start the grieving process on their own. Sakura had been grateful to leave. She now traveled at as fast a pace as her tired body could manage. She would run for a while, than take to the trees for a few miles. She couldn't wait to get home and see her friends.

Especially the friend she knew was probably waiting for her, like he always was, and always had.

Sakura didn't know how Naruto always seemed to know when she was coming home. Team seven did seem to work apart a lot, and the past few times Sakura had gone out on her own, Naruto had been waiting for her at the gates to the village when she got back. He would just suddenly be there in front of her, blue eyes shining merrily, infectious smile on his face. Like he had been waiting there all day. For all she knew, he might have been.

It worried her. It worried her that he had so few friends in such a large village. It worried her to hear the insults and see the venomous looks he got. He was always more concerned about whether his friends got the same treatment by association. He showed the village the same unruffled personality that he had always had. He pretended he didn't care that only a few restaurants and shops would serve him. He was always cheerful in public. Only she, and sometimes Sasuke, witnessed the bouts of self pity and uncertainty. The flashes of temper that leaked out from the mask he had worn most of his life.

Naruto had been heartbroken the second time he had been denied the rank of jonin. Sakura had taken him to his favorite spot, on top of the Fourth's head on monument hill. He had yelled and cursed at first, a rant which mostly involved telling the old farts on the council to perform anatomically improbable acts with livestock. But then he had gotten quiet, and just sat for the longest time, gazing down at the village. After awhile he seemed to remember she was there and had looked at her. His eyes had had this hopeless expression that she had never seen.

"I'll never be accepted, will I Sakura? All I've done to prove myself, for nothing. I just can't do it anymore. I can't act like it doesn't bother me. I'm tired. I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not. How can I be the Hokage of a village that hates me?"

She hadn't known what to say. Sakura had never seen Naruto so bleak, so close to giving up. She had sat down close to him and put her arms around his neck. Naruto had slowly relaxed against her, lowered his head to her shoulder, and wept. All she could do was hold him, her best friend, as tears ran down her own face. They sat like that all night. She didn't even consider leaving him. He had always been there for her. Now it was time for her to return the favor.

After that night, he had changed somewhat. He didn't care what the villagers thought anymore, he was going to be himself whether they liked it or not. He began to dress in black a lot, and moved with a silent, liquid grace. He spoke only when he had something intelligent to say, in a normal pleasant voice. It was a little unsettling at first until Sakura realized that this was still the Naruto she had known so long. He still laughed, still liked to have fun, was still his usual cheerful self, just without the feigned knuckle-headedness and hyper activity. His friends had also been surprised. Sakura smiled at the memory. A few had wanted to know who this guy in the _henge _was,and what had they done with Naruto. The had all supported his decision in their own ways. Sakura supported him in the best way she knew how. Her continued, unshakable friendship. Friendship that, over the past year, had developed into the perfect partnership and mutual understanding. Sakura laughed to herself. When she had first met him, she hadn't wanted anything to do with him. Now, she didn't know what she would do without him.

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted when she was about a half mile from the gates. A sudden, sharp gust of wind sliced through the trees ahead of her, a wind that practically tasted of chakra. She didn't sense a real danger from the wind itself, but circled around to the leeward side of the tree she was in, just in case. As it passed on either side of her, she analyzed the power. Wind chakra. Someone's using wind chakra nearby. There were only a few people in the village who could use wind chakra to any degree, and only one who could manipulate to the extent that she had just sensed.

Naruto would never use such dangerous power near the village. Something was up.

Sakura convinced her tired legs that they could go a bit faster. After a bit, she had to start watching where she stepped, as the trees were now showing more signs of extreme damage the closed she got to the gates. Most she passed were missing limbs. All were missing good portions of their leaves. A groan below her caused her to screech to a halt on the next sturdy looking limb. A man in ragged clothes and pitted leather armor was staggering through the brush, heading away from the village. The visible portion of his skin had a raw, acid burn look that she had seen several times before. In one hand he carried a longbow with a broken string. No forces within, or allied with Konoha used longbows. Sakura could tell from his injuries that he had come in contact with one of Naruto's wind jutsus. Extremely worried now, she kept going, ignoring the injured man.

Sakura could see the gate now, see the splintered surface of the wood. The trees she was passing through had the same appearance. Bodies littered the forest floor, most of them laying in such a way that she knew they were dead. Sakura leapt the last few feet to the gates, skidding slightly as her feet met uneven ground. She looked around in shock. She had landed in the middle of a disaster area. The ground just inside the village was littered with the partially disintegrated remnants of what might have been human once. The ground was torn up, the flagstones paving the gateway had a scoured look. Sakura scanned the buildings nearby. They didn't seem to have any structural damage. She was looking at the roof of the closest building on her left when she noticed a shadowy shape stand up, arm stretched back, as if to throw something. Sakura didn't even think, just reacted instinctively. As fast as the thought, she pulled a kunai out of her pouch, and with one swift moment, sighted on the figure and threw. The figure lurched, than crumpled as the knife struck. As he fell, Sakura noticed the belt of kunai slung across his chest, bandolier style.

Her eyes darted around, looking for more potential danger. Her mind processed the details of the street and examined them.

The group of people starting to gather at the end of the street.

The leather clad bodies laying further up the street.

The blood trail leading up to the door of the guard shack.

--

Going on a trip, so I can't update for awhile. Sorry to leave anyone hanging. Hope your enjoying it so far. Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi!! I'm back from my trip and here's chapter four. One thing about driving across Kansas is that you can get a lot of writing done. My mom likes Reba McEntire, especially the real depressing album, and listening to it in the car gave me some inspiration. Deepness ahead. You have been warned.**

Baby, I'll take care of you

I'll never let you down

No harm will ever come to you

As long as I'm around

I am not afraid of what people say or do

The only thing I fear is being here

Without you

"Bobby"--Reba McEntire

--

Sakura's feet began to move on their own in a stumbling run while her mind was still frozen. As she neared the guard shed, she sent up a silent prayer that she wouldn't find what her heart already somehow knew. Her worst fears were realized when she stuck her head into the shadowed interior. Naruto lay face down just inside the doorway in an alarming sized pool of blood. The way he lay, it looked like he had weakly tried to pull the kunai that protruded from his shoulder before he had passed out. His usually swarthy complexion was extremely pale and he breathed shallowly.

With a small moan, Sakura knelt down and placed her hands on his back. He was so cold. She gently removed the Kunai so she could turn him over. By the looks of it, the leather strap that ran under his clothes that held his tanto to his back had deflected the knife somewhat. Pulling him up so that his upper body was supported against her, Sakura blanched when she saw the damage her friend had taken. He had nicks and cuts all over, and his hands and lower arms were discolored and painful looking, but that was the least of his troubles. The worse was a large gash that ran across his chest, from his collarbone to his ribs. It looked like it had started out as a thin slash from a katana, but some force had caused it to tear open further. Looking into Naruto's body, she saw that the internal damage was severe. Blood loss and shock were causing his heart to falter, and she saw the telltale signs that whatever jutsu he had done had played hell with his tissues in places.

With a shake, Sakura pulled herself together and got to work, pouring chakra into the gaping wound. The edges started to knit slowly, but Sakura was alarmed at how much blood he had already lost. Why wasn't that damn fox healing him? True, it still took Naruto a fair amount of time to heal from damage this severe, but the fox usually stopped bleeding and supported him before things got this bad. Why wasn't it doing so now? Oh crap. The seal. Naruto never took it off for any reason if he was near innocent civilians. He wouldn't take it off while he was still in the village, no matter what. Sakura fumbled with the blood soaked remnants of his mesh shirt until she found the seal and snapped the thong around his neck. Orange chakra began to surround the damaged flesh, but she could see that it was too little, too late. His breathing became more and more shallow, until it, and his heart, just stopped. Sakura continued to force chakra into his still body for what seemed like hours, until, finally she accepted the truth. He was gone.

She sat there, his head against her shoulder, stunned. This couldn't happen. Naruto couldn't die. It was impossible. He always recovered, always came back. Dying was like giving up, and that simply wasn't in his vocabulary. She cupped his face in her hands, brushing his bewhiskered cheeks with her thumbs. Tears began to land on her hands. Tears turned to sobs, until Sakura threw back her head and wailed her loss to the uncaring walls. Choking back her cries, she lowered her head, resting her forehead against his. He wasn't wearing his flak jacket, or even his hitai-ate. He had been off duty, waiting for her like he always did. Like he always had. She raised up and brushed the hair from his face. She remembered she had had mixed feelings when he began to grow his hair out. She had been glad that he was allowing himself to change, to be who he wanted to be. But at the same time she had not wanted his hair to cover those beautiful blue eyes.

Movement in the doorway made Sakura look up wildly, cradling Naruto's body protectively. The curious faces of villagers filled the doorway and the front opening of the shed. At the sight of them grief turned to fury, and they backed up a few steps as she began to scream at them in rage.

"Well, are you all happy now?! You're finally rid of him! You made his life here a living hell, and he just died to save your worthless asses! Were you waiting for him to bleed to death before you came to check on him?! Hoping if you waited long enough you wouldn't have to worry about the "demon" anymore? Well, you know what? You're not going to get rid of him that easy."

With that Sakura began to concentrate chakra into the palms of her hands, until it reached almost her full force. She than released it in one burst, directly into Naruto's heart. His body jerked. She waited a moment and did it again. And again. One more time, and she was out of chakra. She looked at him. There didn't seem to be any change. All the fight went out of her then. They had won. The Kyuubi was dead, her most precious person with it.

Sakura was so sunk in grief that she didn't notice the villagers scatter away from the door way until a gentle hand rested on her shoulder. She jumped, and looked up into Gaara's sad eyes. He still wore his Kazekage robes, but had lost his hat somewhere, like he usually managed to do. He must have just come from observing the chunin exams. He didn't say anything, he still wasn't a big talker, but he spoke with his eyes, and she could see the shock and disbelief in them. A moment later Lady Tsunade swept into the small room, eyes intent on the still body in Sakura's arms. Grief crossed her features as she knelt and placed a shaking hand on Naruto's chest. Her eyes widened and she straightened immediately. She raised her hand and instantly four of her ANBU shadows were in the doorway.

"You guys, make a stretcher out of something, I don't care what. Get him to the hospital as fast as you can and give him to Shizune. Tell her to start without me, I'll be there in a minute"

Suddenly it was very crowded in the small space. Gaara gently lifted Sakura to her feet with a hand under her arm as she reluctantly surrendered Naruto's body, and guided her past the ANBU, who were prying the door off its hinges. Sakura watched from outside as they rolled Naruto onto the door, each lifted a corner, and carried him out. So intent was she that she didn't notice the crowd of familiar faces gather around her. Gaara still stood next to her, to be joined by his brother, sister, and Shikamaru. Kiba and Lee came tearing up the street just as the ANBU took secure handholds on their makeshift stretcher and took off running towards the hospital. The glance they got of Naruto's bloody body going by was enough to stop them in their tracks. Tsunade was standing nearby, surveying the battlefield. At some point Neji arrived, coming from the outside, full of questions about the disaster area he had just run through. Lee took him aside and gave him the few details he knew.

Sakura noticed none of this activity around her. Her mind could only focus on one thing. She stepped away from Gaara and stood in front of her teacher. Tsunade had no trouble reading the question in her eyes.

"Whatever you did in there seemed to work. He had a faint heartbeat when I checked him. Shizune will do all she can, and I'm on my way there now. Good thing I had a hunch I should send her there when that little chunin came to warn us."

At this, Sakura's nerves officially decided they couldn't take anymore stress for one day, and she buried her face in her hands and shook with sobs. Warm, strong arms enfolded her as Tsunade swept her up in a hug. She held her as she began issuing orders over Sakura's head.

"Lee, Kiba, head out into the forest and round up any survivors. I want what's left of them for questioning. You don't have to be too gentle." As the two sped off, following Kiba's giant dog, she tuned to Gaara. "My lord Kazekage, would you be so kind as to observe the remainder of the exams for me? Those two promising gennin of yours still have their fights coming up, and I'm sure you don't want to miss them."

"Of course, Lady Hokage." Gaara replied in his most even voice. It was still hard to read the young Kage sometimes, but Tsunade could tell by his stance and oh so carefully polite voice that he was worried about his friend, but knew that Naruto was in the best hands possible. Gaara bowed, than began the walk back to the stadium. Temari and Kankuro each stopped to give Sakura a squeeze on her shoulder before they hurried after their brother.

Tsunade turned to Neji and Shikamaru. "Why don't you two take Sakura home to get cleaned up, than bring her to the hospital? I'd feel better if someone was with her."

Sakura pulled away and looked down at herself at that last statement. Her clothes were stained and worn from her last mission, and now they were smeared here and there with Naruto's blood. Yep, that was it, she was definitely burning this outfit.

Tsunade lay a hand on her shoulder. "Let these guys take you home first, than come see how he's doing. You know me and Shizune will do everything we can."

With that Tsunade disappeared, heading in the direction of the hospital.

Sakura did know. She knew how much her shishou and her assistant loved Naruto. To Tsunade he was the little brother she had lost and the son she would never have. Shizune would have welcomed anything that made Tsunade happy, but she also loved him like a brother. He had been best man at her wedding, as a matter of fact, and was godfather to her son. Sakura smiled slightly. Naruto spoiled him rotten, he just couldn't resist the kid.

Sakura took a shuddering breath, forcing herself to calm. Shikamaru came up beside her and draped an arm around her shoulders. Neji moved up to support her other side. Sakura looked up at her two escorts as they steered her up the street, toward her neighborhood. The sight of these two slightly socially awkward people trying to play the gallant was, while very sweet, almost enough to make her laugh. She wouldn't though. They were good friends and they were dealing with their own feelings about Naruto's condition. So Sakura did the only thing she could at the moment. Put one foot in front of the other and try not think too much.

--

Shikamaru Nara was thinking of that most ominous of proverbs, "bad things come in threes".

If that was really the case, than he was on number two for the day.

The first had been when a cocky young Rain genin had contested one of his rulings after his battle, getting all up in his face. The kid's sharp eyes had gone to the chunin rank on Shikamaru's vest and had wondered ,out loud, why this village had a chunin proctoring this exam. Shikamaru had never accepted the rank of jonin since that day Naruto had been rejected, but he wasn't about to go explaining his life choices to a bratty thirteen year old who was pissed he lost a match. His friends knew and supported his reasons, and that was enough for him.

That had been a perfect way to start his day. Twice a year was far too often to have to put up with a headache like the chunin exams. Every five years would be too much. The only good thing about it was being able to see Temari on a fairly regular basis.

Unfortunately, the second bad thing, seeing one of his best friends carried, half dead, on a door, to the hospital, had eclipsed the first. By a lot. Now he was walking the emotional wreck of one of his other good friends back to her home so she could get cleaned up so they all could go to the hospital and see if their friend was still alive.

The people who wrote proverbs really needed lessons in perspective.

Shikamaru felt Sakura shiver a little under his arm. He couldn't even begin to imagine what _her_ day had been like. It must have been bad though. He had never seen her so rattled.

A few blocks away from the gate, they passed a little knot of women who were huddled together talking. Gossiping more likely, Shikamaru thought, and paid them little attention. As they walked pass, a rather annoying, nasal, voice rose form the group.

"………should have let it die. Now if it lives, we'll have to worry about our safety again. I hear they took it to the hospital. I hope they can't save it."

The tensing of Sakura's body was the only warning Shikamaru had.

"Oh shit, Neji! Grab her!"

They each grabbed an arm and were almost jerked of their feet as Sakura lunged for the speaker, a middle aged, well dressed, woman with a very unpleasant face. Both he and Neji put their whole weight behind holding her, but he could feel his heels sliding through the dust as she drug them behind her.

Shikamaru saw the object of Sakura's dislike suddenly noticed the scuffle going on nearby and look up to see a wild eyed young woman with disheveled pink hair and bloodstained clothes stalking toward her with murderous intent, dragging two young men like they weren't there. She backed away, but soon fetched up against a wall and couldn't go any further.

"Oh for…this is getting us nowhere," Shikamaru muttered, and released Sakura. He made a sign, stomped a foot into her shadow, and she froze in mid step. He had to strain for a moment to hold her, he sometimes still forgot just how strong she was, before she realized what was happening and stopped struggling against the shadow bind. Neji remained at her side, in case he had to step in somehow. The woman, sensing that the immediate danger was over, stepped forward and opened her mouth, as if to say something.

Neji cut her off. "You'll have to forgive our friend, as she has had a very trying day."

The woman flushed at the interruption and opened her mouth again.

This time Shikamaru cut her off. "You might want to stop while you're ahead. One more remark about our friend, and I might decide it's too much trouble to hold her back anymore."

"Shikamaru," Sakura growled, eyes still intent on her target. " Let me go."

He didn't like the way she ground out his name. It sounded way to much like his mom when she was pissed at him for some reason.

" I'm not letting go until you calm down. Trust me, I wouldn't mind seeing how this turned out. Hell, I'd sell tickets, but we don't have time for this now. Would you rather deal with this stupid woman, or would you rather go see how Naruto is doing."

Shikamaru felt her relax more at that last, and cautiously separated his hands, releasing the jutsu. Sakura tuned to him as the woman's friends used the moment to hustle her off. He was shocked to see fresh tears running down her face. He put both hands on her shoulders.

"Sakura? Why did you lose it there? You know how stupid these people are about Naruto. It's not like you to threaten a civilian. What about what she said set you off?"

" Shikamaru, he was dead. Naruto was dead. He was dead for several minutes. I don't know how I brought him back, or if I even did. I don't know if I did any good." Sakura said in a hollow voice. She hung her head. Shikamaru had to lean forward to hear what she was saying. " I don't know what I'll do without him."

Shikamaru did the only thing he could at that point. He gathered her up in his arms and let her cry it out. He had had some suspicions about her and Naruto's relationship lately. The two spent more time with each other than what came from being teammates. This outburst seemed to be confirming his suspicions. He wasn't curious enough to pry, though. He left things like that to Ino, it was what she was good at. Sometimes women were better than any spy network for information gathering.

It was Sakura's words that really rattled him though. Naruto had been dead? The guy that evil organizations and shinobi in several countries couldn't manage to kill? Dead, and by the hands of ordinary slavers. It just didn't compute. Oh, wait….

"Sakura, he still had his seal on, didn't he?"

She nodded her head against his chest. Shikamaru sighed and met Neji's eyes.

"He was in the village. You know he wouldn't take it off here," Neji said in his soft voice.

" I know. Noble idiot. That guy needs an eye kept on him 24/7." That statement started an idea in his head, but not having the leisure to peruse it, filed it away for later. " Come on, Sakura. Lets get you home." Shikamaru gently let her go, took her hand, and began leading her down the street again.

When they reached Sakura's apartment a short time later, he and Neji waited below while she went up to change. When she emerged, she looked much more together. That was a relief. As Temari was constantly reminding him, he just didn't know how to deal with women sometimes. When the woman was stronger than any ten men put together, it was even worse.

This day was just getting better and better. And now, at some point today, he was going to have to report that little altercation to the Hokage. It wasn't going to make her very happy.

--

When they reached the hospital, Sakura went up to the counter and talked to the woman manning it, a formidable old woman who could cow the toughest jonin. Kiba called her the dragon lady, and the name had stuck.

"They're still working on him," Sakura said, as she came back to them. "I'm going to head up and see if I can help."

"We'll be here." Neji replied. She gave them a small smile and headed upstairs.

Shikamaru and Neji went to the benches outside, neither of them wanting to sit in hospital atmosphere. A little bit later Kiba and Lee came straggling up, their damage control obviously done. The four of them didn't speak, but passed the time in their own ways. Shikamaru lay back on his bench and watched the sky. Kiba put his back up against Akamaru and pretended to sleep. Neji pulled a kunai and a small length of wood out of his traveling pouch and began to carve it into a chain. Lee moved off a short way and began to do one handed pushups. One by one, others joined them. Choji sat quietly next to Shikamaru, for once not eating anything. Soon Ino came to sit with her team. Tenten sat down next to Neji and started sharpening something. She had been the last of them to see Naruto, they had been training together before he had headed to the gate. A silent tear ran down her cheek, and Neji moved a little closer to her.

Their vigil lasted about an hour before they looked up at footsteps coming toward them. Shikamaru raised his head. Shizune was walking toward them with her usual briskness, but he could tell little by her expression. He motioned everyone else to stay put and went to meet her.

" Its alright, he's going to be ok. We countered the blood loss in time, and stabilized him. It's going to take a while for the bones in his hands and arms to knit, but he should regain full use of them. He's going to be out of commission for at least a month."

"Oh, he's going to love that" Shikamaru replied, covering his relief with a quip.

Shizune groaned. "Just what I need, Kenkou _and_ Naruto to look after. One two year old is more than enough, thank you. With Genma busy with the exams and missions, one set of eyes just isn't enough to keep that kid out of trouble.

Shikamaru smirked. "I'd say let 'Uncle Naruto' watch him. That way they could keep each other occupied. You know Naruto loves the kid."

Shizune perked up at that. "Good idea! 24 hour babysitting. I might have to do something to keep Naruto hurt longer. At least until Kenkou graduates the academy. Then his squad leader can deal with his energy."

"I'm just glad Takara is past that stage. I should have known any kid of Asuma's would be a handful. The places I've had to get her down from or out of. I never knew a two year old could climb that high. Well, looking at the faces over there, I'd better go tell them the news before we get mobbed. Is Sakura still up with him?"

"Yep. I don't think she's going to leave him anytime soon," Shizune said, with a amused expression.

Shizune turned to go back inside when Shikamaru put out a hand to stop her.

"I need to talk to Lady Tsunade, is she still upstairs?"

Shizune shook her head. "No, when she knew Naruto was stable, she snuck out the back door to head back to her office. Because of the excitement, she seemed to think someone was going to ambush her at any moment with more paperwork. Why?"

" I have to ambush her. I guess I'll have to do it in her office instead of here. Thanks Shizune, for everything."

Shizune gave him one of her winning smiles and returned inside, while Shikamaru went to the tensely waiting bunch.

"He's going to be OK , just out of commission and pissed for awhile."

Everyone laughed at that. Naruto's aversion to hospitals and bed rest was famous.

Shikamaru saw the signs of worry and stress leave everyone's faces as they expressed their relief. Shikamaru shook his head. And Naruto thought he didn't have a family.

"So, everyone go home, or wherever. Except, hey Ino, Choji, come here for a sec." His teammates followed him to the side as everyone else scattered. "Could you two do something for me? Shino, Hinata, and Sasuke are still out on missions, though they should be back sometime today. Could you guys wait for them at the gate and let them know what happened? I don't want them getting second hand information. The way the town is all riled up, someone's likely to tell them Naruto is dead."

Ino snorted. "We'd have to resuscitate Hinata and tranquilize Sasuke."

"No kidding," Shikamaru moaned. " I already have to tell the Hokage about something she's not going to be pleased with. I don't need anymore trouble today."

Choji clapped him on the shoulder. " No problem, buddy. Come on Ino."

Shikamaru watched while the two of them walked off. " Oh well, no point in putting this off any longer." He began to walk the few blocks to the village administrative buildings and the Hokage's office. As he neared the distinctive building, he automatically glanced up at the Hokage's window, and noticed something.

There was a longstanding tradition among Leaf shinobi, set by the late, great, Jiraiya, of eavesdropping on the Hokage. The best place for this was one only shinobi could use. You hung upsidown, gluing your feet with chakra, from a overhang above the furthermost window. From that place, the only way you could be seen was from below, and only then if the light was right. The ANBU tended to look the other way unless the goings on in the office were top secret, or the shinobi in question happened to be from a village other than Leaf.

So with the goings on today, it didn't surprise Shikamaru that the spot was occupied. But the occupant himself did surprise him. Unruly blue-black hair, blue shirt, and longsword across the back told him the listener was none other than Sasuke Uchiha.

Well that was interesting. He must have come in before Ino and Choji could intercept him. What a bother. If he was up there, he must know that _something_ was going on. He debated whether to just go in and get his report over with and still have time to go out with Temari, or go and see what Sasuke was listening to. As usual with him, curiosity won. With practiced ease, he vaulted to a neighboring roof, sprung to the roof of the office, and swung down to hang next to Sasuke.

"Anything good?"

Sasuke turned his obsidian gaze on him. Sasuke had always been a hard person for Shikamaru to read, even as a kid. Because of this, and the fact that he had been an arrogant little prick, he had never had too much to do with him. Being the object of his first mission as chunin, and his first failed mission at that, had not made him feel any warmer toward the Uchiha. When Sasuke had returned, Shikamaru had been inclined to not trust him, but Naruto had fought hard to get him accepted into the group again. After working with him on a couple of missions, Shikamaru had come to respect Sasuke a bit. He was a powerful, fearless fighter who took orders and worked well with his team, or at least tried to. He was much more laid back and easy to talk to. Almost a completely different person than he had been when he was thirteen.

Sasuke gave him a friendly sort of nod and moved over slightly so Shikamaru could hear him as he whispered.

"Sounds like I missed some excitement. Does all hell break loose every time I'm gone?"

" Only when your brother is involved."

At the mention of Naruto, Sasuke's face clouded over.

"He's hurt?"

"Yeah."

"Bad?"

"If Sakura hadn't come home when she did, we'd be making funeral arrangements right now."

Sasuke's reply was cut off by voices in the office below them. Shikamaru was surprised to hear a very familiar, unpleasant, nasal, voice.

"……now we can see what you have been hiding from us! Just how strong it is! We insist you get rid of it before we are all murdered in our beds. The Third should have killed it when it was a baby."

Shikamaru smirked while Sasuke bristled beside him.

"Well, looks like I won't have to report that particular incident to Lady Tsunade now. She's hearing about it straight from the horse's overlarge mouth." He could just picture the expression on her face right now. The fastest way to get on Tsunade's bad side was to refer to Naruto as "it".

Meanwhile, the woman inside was still digging her grave.

"……and furthermore, you need to keep a tighter rein on your young shinobi. They are becoming very insolent to villagers. Why just a couple of hours ago I was passing time with my friends when a crazy young woman with pink hair attacked me out of the blue. Then one of the young men with her threatened me. I don't know what is happening to the caliber of ninja in this village."

There was a pause. Shikamaru and Sasuke leaned forward slightly, waiting for the explosion.

"Ok, I've listened to you, now you'r going to listen to me," Tsunade said in a deceptively mild voice.

The two listeners grinned at each other. They knew that tone all too well. They were just happy they weren't on the receiving end if it for once.

"First of all, _he _happens to be one of this villages finest shinobi. As a matter of fact, he's the only reason you or some of your neighbors aren't strapped in irons and on your way to a slave market right now. If I hear you call him 'it' again, that's where you still might end up! He is fully aware of what lives inside of him, and killed himself today to protect the people from what it can do. He is not a stupid kid anymore, not that he ever really was. About your second complaint, that young lady, who just happens to be my student, had just returned from a long, hard mission in time to have her best friend die in her arms. If you happened to be saying the same things you just said to me when you were "passing time", and she heard you, I don't blame her for coming after you. I know I would have!"

There was a pause. Shikamaru almost felt sorry for the hapless woman.

Almost.

Tsunade went on. " You have lived here long enough to know that shinobi, for all our abilities and strengths, are still human. Remember that in the future. I don't want to hear about this again. Dismissed!"

Shikamaru heard the woman stutter something too low for him to hear, and heard the office door open, than shut. He glanced over at his companion. Sasuke was looking at him with a troubled expression.

"We need to do something about this." Shikamaru was pretty sure Sasuke meant the villagers attitudes.

"I know, the thought had occurred to me. I'm working on it."

"Nara, Uchiha! Get in here!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I hate it when she does that."

They both grabbed the top of the window and swung themselves into the room. Tsunade watched them with an unreadable expression as they came to stand in front of the large desk.

"You heard what happened?" she asked Sasuke.

"Most of it."

"Good. Why don't you head to the hospital and check up on your team. Sakura should still be there, and I know she'll be happy to see you. You can make your report later."

Sasuke bowed his thanks to her, nodded to Shikamaru, and started to leave through the window. Shikamaru thought of something.

"Sasuke." He paused on the windowsill. "The dragon lady is at the front desk. You might want to find another way in."

Sasuke chuckled. "Thanks. That old bat has it in for me." Then he was gone.

Tsunade turned a steely eye on Shikamaru. "I want to hear your side of that stupid woman's story in case I end up having to do something about it. Spill it."

Shikamaru sighed. So much for going out with Temari.

That was three.

--

Sasuke walked along the ledge of the third floor of the hospital, looking for an unoccupied room. Finding one, he let himself in through the window. He could feel both his teammates chakra somewhere nearby. They were both faint, which told him that Sakura had used herself up. Shaking his head, Sasuke walked into the hall and followed the chakra signatures until he came to a door like all the rest. He slid it open and let his eyes adjust to the gloom inside. There were two beds in the room, but only one seemed occupied. Walking silently across the linoleum floor to the farthest bed, Sasuke looked down.

They had put Naruto in a double sized bed, probably due to the way he thrashed in his sleep. It looked like he had been lightly restrained, straps dangled to the floor on either side, though he was peaceful now. He was still very pale, but his breathing was deep and even. His hands and arms were heavily wrapped and splinted. Sakura was laying next to him, legs dangling off the bed, like she had sat on the edge and just collapsed from exhaustion. Her head was just touching Naruto's shoulder and her hand was resting lightly on his heavily bandaged chest, as if to reassure herself that he was still breathing.

Sasuke gazed at his teammates for a minute than, sighing, gently lifted Sakura's legs onto the bed. She sighed in her sleep and curled up closer to Naruto. Sasuke went to a cupboard in the corner and took out another blanket. He unfolded it and draped it over both of his friends. He reached out and put a hand against Naruto's forehead. No fever, just sleep. He brushed his hand gently against Sakura's head, than moved over to the other bed. He pulled his sword from his belt and propped it against the wall, close at hand. He sighed as he lay down. He hated this hospital. Too many bad memories. He could go home to his small apartment and sleep, but why? This was where his family was. Slowly he relaxed, than all of Team Seven slept.

--

**Sorry this took so long.**

**Some explanations-**

**Yes Shizune and Genma! I dunno, I just thought they made a good couple.**

**Shizune's son is Kenkou- I thought it was a good name for a healers kid.**

**Asuma and Kurenai's daughter is Takara, and true to his word, Shikamaru is helping to raise her.**

**Thanks for the reviews and thanks to Kishimoto-sensei for all the good fanfic fodder.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! Welcome to chapter 5! **

**The only thing that keeps me from writing is reading everyone else's great work till the wee hours. If you haven't yet, read Shivakashi's "Medicinal Lullaby". It's my current favorite. **

**Thanks to those of you who have left comments and reviews! That is my favorite part of doing this. Don't ignore that button at the bottom of the page. Every time someone leaves a review, an (insert favorite winged thing here) gets its wings. Or something. **

**Disclaimer-I don't own Naruto……yada yada …on with the show!**

**--**

When Naruto woke, it was the still time right before dawn. For once, he didn't have that disoriented feeling he usually had when he woke up. Due to the vivid dreams he had to endure every night, it generally took him a few minutes to figure out where he was. Once he reorganized his mind, he could get on with his day. It didn't help that he was rarely in the same position, or even the same place, that he fell asleep in. At the very least, he woke up looking like he had been involved in a fight to the death with his bed. Or ,if he was lucky, he ended up out on the couch or something. Usually, he woke up on the floor. He had started leaving cushions on either side of his bed so that he didn't wake up all stiff.

When out on missions with a team, he tended to sleep in trees. He found that his instincts kicked in and wouldn't let him thrash around too much, lest he fall. The higher the branch the better. His friends were used to it. They had quickly learned that him in a tree was preferable than being woken in the middle of the night thinking they were under attack, when it was only Naruto fighting himself while he slept.

Depending on his team, it was better for Naruto as well. Having a piece of firewood chunked at you was certainly a fast way to wake up, just not a pleasant one. Well, that had only happened once, and he had gotten Kiba back later that day.

No, unfortunately Naruto knew exactly where he was, and why he was there. The numbness in his chest and hands was a good reminder. That and he had an itchy spot on his back where he vaguely remembered getting hit with something, probably a kunai. He remembered trying to pull whatever it was out. He remembered nothing after that. Just darkness. That seemed to happen to him a lot.

"I really need to stop waking up in this damn hospital. Consciousness after a fight is a good thing." He snorted. "Laid up from a fight with non-ninjas. I'm never going to hear the end of this."

Actually, all things considered, he didn't feel too bad. He was alert and felt strangely ….rested. That hadn't happened in a while. He also seemed to have someone in bed with him, and that really hadn't happened in a while. He turned his head slightly.

"I guess she got home all right," he thought to himself.

Sakura lay curled next to him, breath puffing gently against his bare shoulder. They had put him in a wide bed, which was a good idea considering his sleeping habits. Probably on Granny's orders. Sakura looked like this was the first good sleep she had had in a while. There were dark circles under her eyes and she just didn't seem like her usual self, even asleep. To be honest, it looked like she had just collapsed next to him. A blanket had been thrown over her by someone else.

He found that someone else when he lifted his head to look over Sakura. He wasn't surprised to see Sasuke sleeping in the rooms' other bed. That was what Sasuke did whenever stationary for a certain amount of time. He could sleep anywhere. He could also fall asleep faster than anyone Naruto knew. And the gods help anyone who tried to wake him up. Everyone knew that if it wasn't a life or death situation, you let Sasuke wake up on his own. Though he didn't talk about those years much, he had once told Naruto that even Orochimaru had never woken him up himself if he could absolutely help it. Naruto could believe it. Sasuke was a bear to be around for the first hour or so he was up. When someone as scary as Orochimaru didn't dare wake you up, you knew you weren't a morning person.

Tired of laying, Naruto tried to raise himself up to a sitting position. He didn't get very far. Numbness in his chest turned to shooting pains, and his arms protested the little pressure he put on them. He slumped back down.

"Nope, not going anywhere for a while." He turned to look at Sakura's sleeping face, and smiled softly. "At least this room comes with a nice view."

--

Sakura had woken a couple times during the night to check on her friend. The first time she had found a blanket draped over her. She heard soft breathing coming from the other bed behind her. Sasuke. Comforted by the presence of both of her "boys" she had fallen back asleep. When she woke next, the was a pale light in the room and she could hear birds singing. She had rolled over and was now looking at the lump that was Sasuke. She thought she should probably relocate before someone came in and found out where she had spent the night. Her mother would have a litter of kittens if she found out she had shared a bed with Naruto, no matter that she had been asleep and he had been unconscious. Her mother could still be a little weird about Naruto. She was still in the "don't trust the demon" camp, even though he had been Sakura's teammate for almost eight years. Naruto was the reason Sakura had finally gotten an apartment. Her mother had been pressuring her not to spend so much time with him. This would just be the icing on the cake.

She then decided that she was still too tired to give a damn. Anyway, who was going to tell her mother anything? Sasuke?

Besides, she had been worried that he would move in his sleep and tear something open. The nurse had put some light restraints on him, but Sakura had removed them as soon as she was gone. Naruto tended to be a little disoriented when he woke up, and couldn't stand to be restrained. It was a deep seated fear with him, and she had the feeling it had something to do with his childhood, but had never asked him.

Sakura closed her eyes. "Just five more minutes." She rolled over and opened her eyes, and squeaked to find herself inches away from a very awake Naruto.

"Naruto!" she gasped, sitting up. "You're awake! How are you? How do you feel?"

"I feel alright I guess. Been better I suppose. But I have a question. Who are you?"

Sakura just sat and gaped at him, horrified. Oh no! That thing I tried hurt him somehow, or his brain didn't get enough oxygen for too long, or..or..what an I going to do? Her mind babbled to itself like that for a while before she noticed his mouth twitch and the corners of his eyes crinkle.

That little bastard.

"Naruto!!" she wailed. "That wasn't funny! I had to pump so much chakra into you, I thought I might have scrambled your brain or something!"

"Not that we could tell the difference," came a mumbled comment from behind her.

Sakura ignored the peanut gallery and just sat and fumed at her friend. He lay there and laughed silently, eyes sparkling under his unruly hair. Finally she shook her head. It was impossible for her to stay mad at him when he smiled like that.

"Oh Naruto, I do love you," she said, laughing now. And as soon as she said it, she realized she meant it. She cared for him more deeply than she had ever cared for anyone. The revelation shook her a bit.

And not only her it seemed. Naruto's face paled, and his smile faltered. He didn't say anything, just stared at her. He was like that for so long, she became worried.

"What is it? Was it something I said?" Sakura asked.

"It's just……that's the first time anyone has ever said that to me."

"I…..really?" Sakura thought about what she knew of his early life. Orphaned, hated, scorned, forced to grow up fast to survive. He never had any of the things that she had taken for granted. Parents, friends, a normal childhood. There had been no one in his life to tell him that they loved him.

She did the only thing she could think of to take that stunned look off his face. Leaning over, taking care not to bump any bandaged parts, she kissed him. He was surprised at first, than began to return the sentiment. With interest. They didn't come up for air until, forgetting about the state of his hands, Naruto reached up to run his fingers through her hair. Instead, he ended up whacking her in the side of the head with the hard cast.

They broke apart, laughing, her rubbing her head.

"I now know it wasn't your first time for **that**," she said, teasingly.

He blushed slightly. "The kissing, or the smacking you in the head?"

"The kissing, baka."

"And how would you know?"

"Please! I'm sorry, but you spent the better part of two years in the company of a guy who wrote porn. Do you expect me to believe that jutsu was the only education you got?"

His blush got noticeably deeper, and he began to stutter something. Oh, she had hit a nerve!

Payback's a bitch.

After some continued ribbing, Sakura finally took pity on him and changed the subject. Laying back down next to him, she asked him about the events of the previous day. She listened as he gave her the rundown of the fight. She shuddered to think how such a chain of events could almost bring down even him, as strong as he was.

"You'll have to help me."

"What?" Sakura said, realizing Naruto was looking at her expectantly.

"You'll have to help me come up with a name for my new jutsu. What do you think?"

" I think that if you ever use that jutsu,whatever it was, again, I'll kill you myself! I never want to go through what I did yesterday again!"

He seemed taken aback by her vehemence. "Hey Sakura, I'm a little banged up but I'm going to be alright. You know me, Mr. Indestructible."

"You know, you not as indestructible as you think." she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you died yesterday, you idiot!"

"Really? I died? Wow."

His nonchalance just infuriated Sakura more. "'Wow'! All you can say is 'wow'?! Doesn't that information at all concern you?"

"Not really."

"Why not?!"

He smiled. "Because one, we all die at one point or another. Looking back, I was probably past due. Two, I'm obviously still here, and not planning on going anywhere anytime soon." He touched her hand. She looked into his eyes and was lost in the love and trust that shone from them. "And three, I'm never concerned when you're with me."

Sakura reached out to cup her hand around his cheek, thumb tracing his whiskers lightly as he gently brushed her cheek with stiff fingers. They sat like that for some time, green and blue eyes locked. That is, until another party was heard from.

"Oh good, the pillow talk is over. Some of us are trying to sleep."

Sakura jumped. She had completely forgotten Sasuke was in the room.

"Thanks for killing the mood, buddy," Naruto said, chuckling ruefully.

Sakura was not amused, however. "I'll show you pillow talk," she muttered. Sasuke had just enough time to protect the back of his head from a **very** forcefully thrown pillow.

--

Tsunade had found long ago that first thing in the morning was the best time to escape and forget about all this Hokage business for a while. It was when she did rounds in the hospital. Then, she was just a medic again. No paperwork, no council to give her a headache, no advisors driving her to drink. But considering that a war had been going on the last time she had been a medic, this was much more peaceful.

Most of the time. Yesterday had definitely been an exception.

As Hokage, she was constantly sending people into danger. It was a tribute to her ninja that most came back. But sometimes they didn't. Every one that didn't left another scar on her soul. It was worse when she considered the ones in danger "hers". Tsunade had no family left, no kin except the ones she had somewhat adopted.

She had always seen Shizune as a daughter. Shizune's parents had been killed in battle, and the girl had been raised by her uncle, Tsunade's betrothed Dan. When Dan had been killed, she had taken the child under her wing. She had initially done it in service to Dan's memory, but Shizune's sweet nature and fierce desire to learn had quickly forged a strong bond between the two. When, two years ago, she had married Shizune and Genma, it had been like her own daughter getting married. Then Kenkou had been born, who was her grandson in every sense of the word.

Then there was Naruto. She had loved the boy since the time he had saved her life when he was only thirteen. The determination in his small body when he produced his first rasengan had snapped her out of the funk she had been in for most of her adult life. Now, he was one of the lights of her life and, though few knew this, her chosen successor. She had watched him grow and mature into the fine man he was now, and couldn't have been more proud than if he was hers.

What was that old saying? You could chose your friends but not your family? Well, she thought, I seemed to have done a good job choosing my family. Even if some of those members give me gray hairs.

Here was her last stop. She had come by Naruto's room earlier, had heard quiet talking, and had decided to come back later. There were probably some things Sakura and Naruto had needed to talk about. Their relationship had been growing quite close lately, and she had had a scare the day before. Now the room was quiet, and she slid the door open. To her surprise both beds had occupants who were fast asleep. The cherry blossom hued head was pillowed on the blonds arm, which was curled protectively around her shoulder as much as the cast would allow. Evidently their relationship had taken a leap forward in the past hour. She didn't know how Mrs. Haruno was going to take this, but Tsunade thought Kushina would probably have approved.

The shock of black hair told her who the third person in the room was. Well, she had told him to go check on his team. She hadn't told him what to do after that. Tsunade smiled. The last Uchiha was almost obsessively loyal to his friends. She had only been Hokage for a few weeks when Sasuke had defected, and hadn't really had a chance to get to know him. All she had known of his personality had been Naruto's rather biased descriptions. Her opinion after that had been based on Naruto's condition when he had returned from that disaster of a mission to bring Sasuke back. That mission had almost killed four of this villages' most promising genin and one lazy, brilliant chunin. She was inclined to see Sasuke as a lost cause after that. Only Naruto's desperation had kept the file open, so to speak. When Sasuke had returned, Tsunade had been expecting another Orochimaru. What she found was a young man desperate for some normalcy in his life. One who fully accepted that he had made some piss poor life choices and wanted nothing more than to be allowed to be with his friends, protecting the village that his brother had loved. For Naruto's sake, she had relented, and allowed Sasuke back into the village on probation. Day by day, he had slowly gained her trust, and now, he was just another one of the group. The "twelve".

There was a rustling sound, and Tsunade looked down to see Naruto looking at her with a familiar grin. She looked at Sakura and raised an eyebrow. He just raised an eyebrow back.

" I'm not either of your mothers, so I'm not going to say anything." With that Tsunade cleared her throat loudly. Sakura jumped and sat up, blinking. She looked up and smiled sheepishly at her teacher. Sasuke was sitting up, running his fingers through his hair, obviously not with the rest of the world yet.

"Once you two get yourselves together, why don't you go downstairs and talk to that lazy group that's loitering outside. I need to have a word with Naruto."

"Hai, sensei," said Sakura. She slid from the bed, straitened her clothes, squeezed Naruto's hand, and headed for the door. Sasuke followed behind a moment later, still not completely awake.

Tsunade started changing the bandage over Naruto's chest, collecting her thoughts. As she opened her mouth, Naruto interjected.

"I hope this isn't going to be a 'you could have handled that better' speech, because believe me, I know. That could have gone way better."

"Actually, I wasn't going to say that. I looked over the scene, and Ibiki just finished interogating a couple of the survivor. I think, given the little warning and how prepared the opposition seemed to be, you did well. You couldn't have known that they would use that particular defense against shadow clones. Even I haven't seen anyone use that since the last war. You did everything possible to protect as many people as you could. Just as I would expect frome you."

"Oh." Naruto looked a little disappointed that his carefully prepared speech in his defense wouldn't be needed.

"One thing I am going to remind you of, and Sakura probably already has, is what those wind rasengans of yours do to you. And I'm not just talking about your hands." She put her hand on his head,ruffling his hair gently. " You need to be more careful, little brother. I want you to be around to be the next Hokage, all right? You little pain in my ass."

He gently caught her hand between his casts. " Don't worry, you old woman, I plan to be."

--

Tsunade left and, soon after, Sakura retuned alone. Naruto was sitting up, had one of his loose fitting mesh shirts on over his bandages, and was much more comfortable.

"I guess sensei didn't give you a hard time if you'r looking this happy," she said.

"Nah, just the usual. How's everyone?"

"Why don't you ask them yourself." She went to the window and opened it wide. Leaning out, she whistled shrilly then stepped back. First through the window was Sasuke, followed closely by Shikamaru. The rest came soon after, Choji, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Tenten and Lee, all jostling for room. Neji and Shino followed at a more sedate pace. With everyone there, all talking at once, the room suddenly seemed much smaller.

Naruto was laughing harder than he had in a while. "You know, most people come through the door."

Shikamaru, who was closest, rolled his eyes. "We've been trying to come up to see you, but "you know who's" still at the front desk."

"Yeah, the old bat", said Kiba. "'Team members only', she says. So we were standing there arguing, ok, **I** was standing there arguing with her, when Sakura and Sasuke came down. Sasuke was kind enough to show us which window was yours, and instant party! At least until they kick us out. So what's this I hear about you getting your ass kicked by civilians?"

Hinata reached out and smacked her boyfriend across the head. "Kiba! Down boy!"

"Ow, woman!"

Naruto laughed at the pair. He loved to see this side of Hinata, now that she wasn't the shy, quiet girl she had been. She was more confident in herself now, and had realized that her attraction to him had been one of hero worship, rather than love. She was still one of his dearest friends, and he had been glad when she finally noticed that Kiba had been quietly waiting for her to notice him. Since she had given up her heiress title to her little sister a year ago, she had finally been free to be herself. She had worked on her own unique fighting style with Neji's help, and was now a hellcat in battle.

They all talked and laughed for a while until Sasuke, who had been sitting near the door, slid it open and stuck his head out. "Oh crap, here she comes. Hide!"

The group moved as only ninja can, and by the time the orderly opened the door a few seconds later and looked in suspiciously, all she saw was Team Seven. Naruto was obediently sitting in bed, Sakura was sitting in a chair reading something, and Sasuke was sitting on the windowsill sharpening his sword. The loud rasping noise covered the sound of nine people fighting for space on the same section of ledge just outside. As the woman slid the door shut, the three heard a yelp as someone lost their balance and was pulled back up by the others. Shikamaru stuck his head in the window. "Lee's fine. We'll see you guys later."

The sound of everyone laughing as they climbed down was music to Naruto's ears.

--

Shikamaru had suspected that this incident might be the straw that broke the camel's back in how the village saw his friend, and he had been right. People had seen just what Naruto was capable of and they were scared, no matter how irrationally. It didn't matter that most of these people hadn't even seen what really happened. Or that, while people were terrified of the Kyuubi, Naruto hadn't even transformed in the slightest. Some people he heard talking lived clear across town from the gates. Talk and gossip were quickly turning into mass hysteria.

Then it got worse than just talk. His team and Team Eight were crammed in Kiba's small apartment discussing a joint mission, when there was a knock at the door. Kiba got up to answer it. A short silence was followed by Kiba shouting, Akamaru barking furiously, and the sound of feet beating a hasty retreat. When Kiba came back into the room he was holding a piece of paper and swearing. He didn't explain, just handed it to Shikamaru. He read it.

"You've got to be kidding me?!"

"What? What is it?" Hinata asked as they all clustered around him, trying to read over his shoulder.

"DEMON IN OUR MIDST" All they had to do was read the heading of the pamphlet to know they weren't going to like the rest of it. Basically, it encouraged people to band together to force the council to do something about the "threat" to their safety. If the council was on their side, they could force the Hokage into action.

"This is not good," groaned Shikamaru.

"Why? It seems like a pretty flimsy idea to me," Choji asked his friend quizzically. "Most of our fathers are on the council. They would never let that happen."

"Because," said Shino," If they get enough support, they really could force Lady Tsunade to kick Naruto out. If the council outvotes her, she has to listen to them, no matter how much she wouldn't like it. Our fathers still comprise the minority of the council."

"That about sums it up." Shikamaru drug his hand down his face. "I can also see some other problems coming from this. We need to discuss this, all of us. Lets get everyone together and go out to eat. Make sure Sasuke and Sakura come too."

--

They all gathered in the private room of one of their favorite restaurants later that night. It was one of their favorites because it was one of the few who would serve Naruto. If he knew they were eating here while he was eating hospital food, he would be pissed. They ordered and Shikamaru let them eat for awhile before he moved to the head of the table and got everyone's attention.

"Ok, I had ulterior motives than just a social event when I suggested this. Something happened today that we need to talk about."

"You mean the pamphlets?" snorted Tenten. " I've seen them . I chased a guy handing them out away from my uncle's shop. I made sure he'll stay away from weapons shops from now on." She high-fived Kiba over the table.

"Yes, the pamphlets themselves are a problem, but not our immediate problem. That will take awhile. Getting this village to agree on anything, even this, is like herding cats. Its what they might trigger that's worrying me."

They all looked back to Shikamaru.

"Our immediate problem is what to do when Naruto gets out of the hospital in a few days."

"What do you mean, Shika?" asked Ino.

"Here's a question. In the average month, does anyone know how many times Naruto's apartment gets broken into?" He watched as they all muttered to themselves. Kiba looked at him.

" I dunno. How many?"

"I don't know either, but I bet its more times than he would ever tell us. We all know what a crappy neighborhood he lives in. What I'm worried about is that this sudden support by our friends with the printing press will make people bolder. I'm afraid that one day someone's going to break in and mean business, maybe while they think he's defenseless now that he's hurt."

Lee looked confused. "Yes, but its not like Naruto can't protect himself. He can easily deal with something like that, even hurt."

"Yeah, but would he? Would he defend himself from a villager? And if he did, what would that do to his image?"

Sakura groaned from her place beside Sasuke. "Not to mention if someone tried something at night. You all know how short fused he is when he sleeps. He could hurt someone and not even know it."

"So what do you propose, Shikamaru," asked Neji.

"I'm saying, at the very least, we should find him a better place to live. Maybe nearer to some of us. With the missions he does, its not like he can't afford it."

"If we can find someone who will rent to him that is," said Neji dryly.

"Yeah, there's always that."

Everyone started talking amongst themselves, and Shikamaru let them. It was how they hashed out problems. He heard some comments like "hey, I have a crappy apartment too, what about me", and " at least you have a crappy apartment, I still live at home", and others to that effect. The only voice he didn't hear was Sasuke's, and he was sitting with a thoughtful expression.

"What are you thinking, Sasuke?"

"I'm thinking that I might have a solution to our little problem. Maybe more than one problem."

The group quieted down. Sasuke rarely volunteered information, and nobody wanted to miss this. What he said next left everyone stunned.

"Wait, what?" said Shikamaru, startled.

"Why not? I still own it. I can do anything I want with it except sell it. You can't sell clan holdings, but you can rent them out." He smirked. "Don't worry, I wouldn't charge you guys much."

"But **you** don't even live there," said Kiba.

"Why would I want to live in that big empty house by myself? That's why I got an apartment when I came back. If there was some activity around the place, I wouldn't mind living there again."

Sakura looked up at him. "You could live in that place again? After what happened there?"

Sasuke smiled slightly." There shouldn't be any ghosts there for me now. I've made my peace with the past."

"And we could all fit?" asked Ino excitedly.

"Come on! My entire clan lived there, I think the twelve of us will have more than enough room."

"Nobody's live there in a while," said Shikamaru," how much fixing up will we have to do?"

"Not much. I go look at the compound occasionally. There are some neighbors who have been keeping it up a bit."

Shikamaru thought for a while. It did solve some problems neatly, and not just how to keep an eye on Naruto. Living in the same compound wouldn't be a stretch for everybody. They already spent so much time together. The idea appealed to him. The idea that if he had his own place, Temari could stay with him when she was in town **really** appealed to him. He looked up to see what the consensus was. " Well, what do you think?"

He saw varying degrees of excitement on peoples faces, depending on their personalities. Lee was bouncing up and down slightly on his cushion. They all looked at him and nodded. Shikamaru looked at Sasuke.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

--

**Thanks for reading! I totaly wrote myself into this chapter. I'm a horrible sleep walker! I've never had to sleep in a tree, but a top bunk works just as well.**


	6. Chapter 6

**_I_ don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. They just won't stay out of my head.**

**Chapter 6**

Naruto was thinking longingly of sleeping in trees. Or on rocks. Or even in his dank little apartment. Anywhere except this hospital room. He knew every crack and ridge of the ceiling. He had been bored of the view out the window since an hour after first waking up. He even found himself counting the tiles on the floor for want of anything else to do.

He never knew waiting for all hell to break loose could be so mind numbing.

Oh, he knew something bad was going to happen eventually. How could it not? He had unleashed a potentially devastating jutsu while in the village. People who had been alarmed at rumors and second hand accounts of his exploits in other countries had seen for themselves just what he was capable of. To say that things were still a little stirred up, even a week later, was a slight understatement. All he had to do was observe his friends to know that things had gotten bad out in the village. Kakashi stuck his head in his room at least once a day, as did Iruka. Tsunade was looking a little more worn than usual. He sensed a couple of familiar ANBU signatures nearby off and on. Sakura and Sasuke practically lived in his room.

The people who cared about him were worried.

But he wasn't supposed to know that.

In fact, he was supposed to be in here recovering in ignorant bliss. Or at least that's what his friends were trying to accomplish. Unfortunately for them, they forgot just how good his hearing was. He was being kept up to date inadvertently by the medics who worked on his floor of the hospital. He actually knew just about everything.

He kept up the charade of ignorance mostly for Sakura's sake. She spent as much time with him as she could and not neglect her other duties. She did things for him that required working thumbs and kept him from going too stir crazy. She, and the fact that he couldn't make hand signs, was the only reason he hadn't left a clone behind and escaped to the woods for awhile. Their relationship was the one good thing to come from this whole fiasco. But she also neatly evaded any of his questions about what was going on outside. He was glad for the company though, especially since the rest of his visitors were also acting really fishy about something. They seemed to have some sort of joint project going that they could not or would not tell him about.

He hated secrets.

That was actually providing him with some entertainment, as he could needle whoever was visiting him at the time for information. He especially worked on Lee and Kiba. Lee he could read like a book, and Kiba could usually be egged into blurting something out, but the others were careful not to leave the two alone with him.

The only other diversion he had was when Shizune dropped Kenkou off with him for a few hours. Trying to corral an energetic rug rat with a 30 second attention span without your hands certainly took all your attention. Ken was a pretty cool kid though, for a two year old. Now that his godson was past the drooling and babbling stage, Naruto could finally have some fun with him. He was cute, funny, quit smart, and completely hyper. In fact, now that Naruto had grown up and dropped his act, Kenkou had probably taken his place as Konoha's ADD poster child. Luckily for Ken though, he was irresistible. He had inherited both of his parents dark good looks, with Shizune's sunny nature and Genma's laid back attitude. Of course Naruto was usually insuring that some of himself rubbed off on the kid as well. What were godfathers for? The hospital staff had to keep a stern eye on them after one incident involving the window, pedestrians, chakra wire, and bedpans filled with water. Connecting with his inner prankster always helped him forget what was going on around him.

Even people not from Konoha could feel the tension in the village. The group from Suna were still in town. Kankuro came to play cards with him at least once a day, with Gaara often sitting and watching. Naruto could almost count these visits as training. As Naruto couldn't turn over his own cards, he had to watch the puppet master like a hawk when he did it for him.

The first time the two had shown up, Naruto had asked them why they weren't on their way home. All Gaara would say was that he had unfinished business here. When he walked out of the room sometime later, Naruto had shot Kankuro a questioning look. Kankuro, sitting cross-legged on the foot of Naruto's bed shuffling a deck, shrugged easily. He was quite used to translating for his quiet brother.

"He's worried about you. He hears the rumblings in the town and he's reminded of what back home was like before he became Kazekage. He mentioned to me 'n Temari that if things got too hairy here, you might want to come to Suna with us. We could use a shinobi as strong as you, and our village knows how to treat jinchuriki now. Think about it. Besides, you and Sakura are family and we take care of our own. And hey, the way things are going between you two, we might just get a damn good medic out of the deal." He gave Naruto a lopsided grin." OK, we gonna play, or what?!"

"Fine, but I see any chakra strings, I'm telling Temari."

"Dude! You play rough! I haven't even done anything yet!"

"Yet" being the key word there."

"Man. No trust."

As Kankuro dealt the cards, Naruto digested his words. True, the three siblings had practically adopted he and Sakura after they had saved Gaara and Kankuro from the Akasuki, and the offer touched him. He liked Suna, and he was comfortable there, but his heart was here.

Even if here didn't want him.

Naruto sighed and concentrated on making sure his friend didn't cheat him out of a months pay.

----------------------

"Um, guys? If you're here to walk home with me, we're going the wrong way."

It was a sunny day, he was wearing new clothes, and Sakura's arm was around his waist as he walked out of the hospital. His hands were just bandaged now, and he could finally, carefully, hold her hand as his arm rested across her shoulders. He was feeling pretty happy. Then this crazed mob had come and swept him in the exact opposite direction from his apartment. The only reason he wasn't alarmed was that the mob weren't angry villagers, but his friends.

The weird thing was, they all looked like they had just completed the worst D-rank mission ever. They were, all of them, even Temari and Kankuro, a paint splattered, cobwebby, bruised mess. Takara was perched on Shikamaru's shoulders clutching a paintbrush.

"Naru!" the dark haired little girl said delightedly as he reached up to ruffle her hair. He noticed that there were a few people missing, namely Sasuke, Shino, and Lee. He knew for a fact that they weren't on missions.

The mystery deepens.

"What have you been doing? Did you all need money so bad that you started your own house painting service or something? And where the hell are you taking me?"

Kiba, who was walking on his left, smirked. "Something like that. And we're taking the scenic route, so just shut up and keep walking."

Naruto bristled slightly, but Sakura gave him a reassuring squeeze, and he relaxed. It was useless to get mad at Kiba for being Kiba, and at least now he would be finding out what the big project was all about.

He had his head down, laughing at something Sakura said, when the chatter around him stopped and the group slowed to a halt. Naruto looked up to see a crowd blocking the street, radiating determination and bad attitude. He shuddered involuntarily. It was silly for someone of his age and experience to be afraid of a small group of civilians, but old lessons died hard. He had learned at a very young age that gangs of villagers rarely meant him any good. A group this big usually meant a hospital stay was in his future. True, nowadays they were too scared of him to do more than vandalize his apartment when he was gone, but these guys seemed to think they had safety in numbers.

He concentrated on Sakura's arm around his waist instead, and calmed himself enough to mask his emotions. The last thing Naruto wanted was for his friends to get mixed up in his problems. These people were obviously here for him and only him. He was about to tell everyone around him to back off when he found himself overruled before he even said anything.

The crowd of villagers faltered a bit as they closed on the young shinobi. Neji and Hinata had moved to the front and were hitting them with the uncompromising stare of the Hyuga, and Akamaru was growling menacingly. That seemed to weaken the resolve of some of them. There was a series of muttered conversations before the mob found their courage again and moved foreword once more. The Rookies held themselves ready. Naruto knew things wouldn't escalate too much. He could sense Sai somewhere nearby, as well as Kakashi. The ANBU and former ANBU would step in if needed.

Naruto wasn't about to let things get that far. He started to push his way to the front.

" I don't want you guys to get in the middle of this. Let me deal with it."

This statement was met with instant and emphatic opposition and much rolling of eyes. Choji took one deliberate step to the side, right in his path. Naruto grimaced. He new there was no use arguing with a determined Akimichi.

Shikamaru looked at him and snorted. "Yeah right. We've had to listen to these idiots for the whole week you've been in the hospital. We've been dying for them to make some kind of move first so we can do something about it."

Naruto gaped at him. "Are you crazy Shika? We can't fight our own people."

"Sure we can! If they threaten one of us, they threaten all of us. Now here," and he came over and deposited Takara on Naruto's shoulders, "be good and watch the kid."

Takara squealed with delight and wrapped her arms around his head, covering his eyes. It took him a moment to get the giggling three year old to release him. By the time he could see again, It was too late.

"But..but.. Hey!" Naruto's protests went unheard as the rookies moved in front of him, the two Suna jonin right with them.

"Temari! Kankuro! This isn't even your village!"

Kankuro looked around at him and winked. "I told you. We look after our own."

Naruto just spluttered. They were all mental.

-------------------

Sakura hung back to keep herself next to Naruto, in case of more self sacrificing attempts. It had been particularly clever of Shikamaru to dump Takara on him. It effectively handicapped him in that he wouldn't make any decisions that would endanger her, and it could also give him the incentive to protect himself for her sake. Sakura, and everyone else, knew that Naruto usually didn't care about his own safety much, but would die to protect a child. And they knew it. Even children in other countries , in the middle of running battles, would flock to him, as if they knew instinctively that he would protect them.

Sakura looked up at her friend and love and almost laughed at the indignant expression on his face as everyone proceeded to ignore him. He had never had this many people stand up for him before, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. Then she saw his eyes widen and whipped her head around.

A second, larger group was converging on them from a side street.

Ok, things weren't funny anymore.

---------------------------------

The fourteen teenagers backed up a bit so they could keep an eye on this new threat. To their surprise the larger group completely ignored them and moved in on the first crowd, surrounding them. Individuals in the original group were taken by surprise as they were detained, sometimes forcefully. Naruto noticed headbands on some of the newcomers.

Suddenly Shikamaru laughed. " Hey old man Kubo! Nice of you to join the party!"

" Hey Shikamaru. I thought something like this would be too much work for you." An older man came over to stand in front of Shikamaru.

Sakura sucked in her breath when she saw his face. Naruto looked at her curiously.

"That man used to be an ANBU captain. He retired while you were training, and became a woodworker. He has a lot of influence in the neighborhood nearest the main gate"

"Yeah, he's an old friend of my dad's," Shikamaru said, looking expectantly at the old shinobi. "So, is there a particular reason you dragged your entire neighborhood to this side of town?"

"Just returning a favor," the man said, looking straight at Naruto. "Come here and let me look at you, boy."

Naruto slowly came up to stand in front of the old ANBU, and studied him. What he saw was impressive. Few people rated an automatic "sir" from him, but he could tell this would be one of them. Sharp gray eyes bored into his from a weathered face that had seen a lot of action in its day. The man was shorter than him, with a hard, lean physic and ,despite the age difference, Naruto still felt that he would not want to get into a taijutsu match with him.

Naruto saw that he was being studied in return, and smiled slightly. Finally the man nodded, as if approving of something. "You turned out better than I could have hoped for young man. I used to detail the squad that guarded you when you were a baby." Kubo grinned as Naruto gaped at him." I wanted to thank you in person for what you did at the gate. I was at the exam that day, and my granddaughters were home alone. They are very young and attractive, and if they had been captured, I have a good idea what their fate would have been. If you ever need anything, me and my family will always be in your debt. The same goes for everyone else that came with me. They all have homes and loved ones in that neighborhood."

"I was just doing my duty, sir," said Naruto in an embarrassed tone.

"Things might have changed, but in my day dying kind of went above and beyond the call of duty," the old man replied dryly. " Now, I believe you and your friends were going somewhere before this herd of sheep got in your way. We'll just shoo them back to where they came from."

The group of protesters turned red as the rookies started to laugh. One brave soul broke away and confronted Kubo, gesticulating wildly and yelling in a nasal voice..

"We will not tolerate that "thing" near our homes. You live on the other side of town, you're perfectly safe."

Shikamaru groaned. "Lady, you just don't learn, do you? The Hokage let you off easy before. I don't think that's going to happen this time."

The old ninja looked down his nose at the woman. "Personally, I would feel much safer if he lived closer to my side of town. I'd know my grandchildren were safe. I could care less what he has living inside of him, as long as he continues to protect our village. If you had an ounce of brains in that pointed head, you'd feel the same.

Naruto was listening to this exchange in stunned surprise. Here was a complete stranger defending him. A whole crowd of complete strangers. From his own village. Who knew who an what he was. It was hard to take in.

The woman doing the talking was reaching new levels of shrillness when one person in her group tried to level the playing field. A kunai whipped towards the old ANBU from the center of the mob. Without even thinking, Naruto reached out and snagged it out of the air with bandaged fingers. Kubo, his vision blocked by the wildly waving arms in front of him, hadn't even seen it coming. Suddenly there was a lot more activity in the street as masked ANBU descended on the troublemakers. Two, who Naruto knew were Sai and Yamato stood in front of Naruto and Kubo, along with Kakashi, who had appeared from nowhere.

"Nice of you to join us." Naruto said.

The one with the wolf mask turned to him. "We had to wait until someone made a move. If they didn't, we were just going to let Kubo-san's people deal with them. But one did an aggressive act, so now we get to take all of them in for questioning. The ringleaders at least will be doing some time in prison. Kubo-san, good to see you." And with that, the mob was hustled away.

"Well young man, that's two I owe you, " the old man chuckled, looking at Naruto.

"We'll start a tab, " Naruto laughed.

Suddenly Shikamaru made them all jump by loudly laughing. Ino looked at him like he was crazy.

"What!?"

"I won't have to hear that fool woman's voice for a really long time."

----------------------------------------

" Ok. Now are you going to tell me where we're going?" Naruto said, plaintively.

"Yeah, yeah, were almost there. Geez!" Kiba said, rolling his eyes. "You guys sure we wanted to do this for such a whiner."

"DO WHAT!?"

"Naruto! We're here!" laughed Sakura, squeezing his arm. They all stopped.

" Here? Wait, what?"

They were standing in front of the gate to the Uchiha clan compound. Naruto hadn't been here in years. Sasuke was never very eager to visit, for obvious reasons. Now the walls were sporting a new coat of paint and colorful banners were hanging here and there.

Sasuke was standing just outside the entrance in what Naruto recognized as his "I'm really impatient, but I try not to show emotion so I'm just standing here" pose. "What the hell took you so long? The place will be falling down again before we get moved in."

Moved in?

"We ran into some old friends," drawled Shikamaru. " But I can honestly say that they probably won't be bothering us anymore."

"Hnn," was the only comment out of Sasuke, but he looked satisfied.

Naruto was still trying to wrap his brain around one of the previous comments. "What do you mean move in? Sasuke, are you going to live here again?"

"Yep, and so are you."

Hinata came and slipped her arm through his. "All of us are. Sasuke is renting it to us. Cheap."

"Just think. Our own little neighborhood." Lee, as usual, was practically bouncing with excitement.

"Come on, we'll show you around." said Hinata as she gently tugged him inside.

Naruto walked through the entrance with two lovely ladies on his arms.

----------------------------------------

It was a nice warm night, and Shikamaru was sitting on the roof of the small house he shared with Choji. Kurenai wouldn't be back from her mission for a couple of days, so he still had Takara. He swore the kid was nocturnal or something, she never seemed to sleep. So here he was, the middle of the night, sitting on his roof with a wide awake three year old sitting on his lap. At least it was a full moon. There were some nice clouds drifting slowly over it. It was also very quiet here. The compound was tucked into its own corner of the village, and with only the twelve of them living there, it still looked like a ghost town.

He looked down over the collection of buildings. Everyone now had their own niche here, and seemed happy. He and Choji had taken this small house, Sakura and Ino were sharing another, and Hinata had settled in to a third with the easygoing Tenten. Kiba and Shino had taken apartments on the other side of the main house and Lee had moved into living quarters off of the family dojo. That left the main house to Naruto, Sasuke ,and Neji, with plenty of room to spare. Over a communal dinner, Shikamaru had been watching Sasuke covertly, knowing it must be somewhat hard for him to be living here again. Then, at one point, as everyone had been laughing at one of Naruto's stories concerning bedpans, Shikamaru had caught an almost tender look on the Uchiha's face. Sasuke had glanced at him, and, instead of covering the emotion, had grinned….

"Pink!"

Huh?

" Shika! Pink!"

A small hand whapping him on the arm woke Shikamaru up from his soliloquy.

"What's that Kara?" "Pink" was a bit of a non-sequitur even for a three year old. "What's pink?"

The little girl pointed, and he tried to see what had caught her attention. She had uncommonly good eyesight for a child and he had long ago stopped doubting her when she said she saw something. There was one thing that Kara always referred to as "pink" and that was….

Movement caught his eye at that point as a silent shadow moved into the light of the moon. Cherry blossom hair flashed in the light. Sakura. Kara had always called her Pink. Shikamaru watched as she glided across the courtyard and gracefully vaulted up to the roof of the main house. He had a pretty good idea where she was heading, and wasn't surprised when she dropped over the edge of the roof onto the sill of Naruto's window.

Shikamaru smirked as he entertained a brief fantasy of Temari doing the same thing through his window. Moving here had definitely been a good idea. For everyone.

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Two weeks later

Tsunade sat behind her desk and studied her four new captains. The ever increasing demands on her ninja had required her to form a few new teams to send out, and these four were the ones who were going to lead them. They represented the finest of their generation, and the ones who would make the best leaders.

Although with two of them carting around small children, they didn't look that tough at the moment.

Neji was an obvious choice to lead a squad. The teams he was temporarily assigned to always had a high success rate and few injuries, mostly due to Neji's insight and tactics. His cousin Hinata was her other choice. She was strong and always put her team's welfare before her own. She was still somewhat quiet with strangers, but enemies constantly underestimated her because of it. Until she started wiping the ground with them, that is. She was developing an attitude to match her Inuzuka boyfriend.

And then there were her two newest jonin.

Shikamaru. Tsunade had a soft spot for the lazy genius. The nonchalant exterior and blinding intelligence hid an extremely loyal and caring heart. The young man who had had his carefully worked out plan for the future shattered by the death of his mentor was now helping to raise his daughter without a single complaint. And loving every minute of it, though he would never admit it. Even now little Takara was perched on his shoulders, giggling as Hinata made funny faces at her.

Tsunade swelled with pride when she looked upon her fourth choice. Standing there, resplendent in his haori, shaggy blond hair dangling in front of piercing blue eyes, was Naruto. Kenkou was fast asleep on his shoulder, arms wrapped trustingly around his uncle's neck. Backed by a large portion of the village, the council had had no choice but to finally accept him as a jonin. When that had happened, Shikamaru had accepted his long overdue promotion. Tsunade already knew what kind of leader Naruto was, and had hand picked his team herself.

"Alright! I've selected your teams based on compatibility of personalities and skills. I tried to give you each at least one person that you have worked with in the past. I also gave you some of this year's chunin to train and assess. They're assembled and waiting for you. Go talk to them and get to know each other. Shikamaru, Neji, Hinata, yours are waiting for you on the roof. Naruto, yours are going to get a trial by fire. I have a mission for you. Your team is waiting by the front gate. You leave right away. Here give me the kid. " Tsunade took Kenkou from him. Her grandson was just as happy to continue his nap on her lap. She looked at the four. " Go and make me proud."

Naruto looked her in the eye. "Always."

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Naruto stopped by the compound just long enough to grab his pack and a goodbye kiss from Sakura before heading to the gate. As he walked up, he saw two people waiting. Two people and one rather large dog. Akamaru barked a welcome as he approached.

"Kiba! Akamaru! Right on!" This was someone he could definitely work with.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it when she told me! I didn't know what kind of captain I was going to be stuck with. You, I can live with. That and I think Hinata pushed for it. She said she knew you would bring me back in one piece. "

"I'll try not to disappoint her. I certainly don't want her pissed at me!"

He turned his attention to the young kunoichi and was surprised to see his crowd control specialist from the gate incident.

" It's good to see you again," Naruto said, smiling. "I never got a chance to tell you how well you handled yourself that day. I would be glad to have you on any team of mine…..?"

"Machi, Uzumaki taicho. My name is Machi. I requested this assignment. I knew that you would be a good captain."

"Great, but were going to have to work on this "taicho" business. Call me Naruto please. I assure you, dog boy over there will be." He looked around. " Now, aren't we missing a person?"

"I'm coming!! I'm coming boss!! Footsteps pounded on the road as a lanky, black clad teenager puffed up.

"You have got to be kidding me! What did I do to deserve this?"

Konohamaru looked hurt. "What? Oh, come on boss, you know I'm a good fighter."

Kiba ruffled his hair. "He knows, kid. He's just giving you a hard time."

Konohamaru was still looking at him. At fifteen, he could almost look Naruto in the eye. He had become a formidable fighter, with his grandfathers memory for jutsu.

" Konohamaru, I wouldn't have anyone else watching my back." The teenager cheered up at that. "Ok, we all set? Than let's go. Kiba, you take point. Move out."

"Hai!"

And with that, Team Uzumaki dashed out of the gates.

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**Thanks for reading. I know, it's a happy ending, all is right with the world kind of story. I did kill the hero though, if only for a few minutes.**

**Let me know how I did, I was suffering from killer writers block and technical difficulties with this chapter.**

**I will have more stories based on this timeline.**

**Cheers, uzumakisunspydr**


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